Matrix: Firewalls
by Vick Pena
Summary: Join the crew of the Mordecai as they try to save Zion's ships when they are hunted down by Sentinels, this story has nothing to do with the two movies, please R&R MORE CHAPTERS ARE UP!!!
1. Shiva

****

Vick says: Agent Smith has a plan to find the codes for Sion's mainframe using a human to find a hacker known as Sonic, this is chapter 1 of a long story of two books, please read and understand I can't spoil you with the rest of the plot for your own good.

****

Most Important: This plot and story are not related to any of the two parts of Matrix...I only use the universe and technology set by the movies in order to create a new story based in the elements of the movie and not in the characters or plot...so...you'll never hear from Neo and the others beyond a quick reference of 'a young guy named Morpheus' in chapter 7 ..the only one appearing here is my old friend Smith and his merry boys...

__

The prime objective of Fanfiction is to create and explore new plots and situations for our favorite show or movie

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding movie.

THE MATRIX:

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

Book 1: The Agent and the Hacker.

Chapter 1

Shiva.

The coded data scrolled down the monitor.

The woman smiled in victory.

The computer displayed a new window informing her she was accessing a forbidden area of the system...the smile turned in a short laugh...she knew what she was doing...in fact...she was just doing her job.

She typed some commands.

Another window informed her that the program she was trying to upload was not allowed to be executed in that level of the system.

But she was very persuasive and after a few more commands the program began uploading

A black window with a blinking green cursor opened.

A phrase was written in that window.

__

I know what you're trying to do.

The woman smiled and knew, without any doubt, she was heading the right direction.

"Hello Sonic" she whispered.

Another line appeared in the screen below the other.

__

Your fable attempt makes me laugh...what is this?....a trace program in the form of a virus?...clever...most clever...but not effective against me.

"We'll see..." the woman said and began typing again 

the computer displayed a little window on the bottom left corner of the screen with the upload process in it...when the level filled up and the load was complete a message informed the woman that there was an incoming file from an unknown user.

She clicked DENY to that petition but she really didn't expect Sonic to give up that easily.

She was right.

The screen tilted preventively and then shut off momentarily.

The signature effect of Sonic...she knew it so damn well.

When the screen illuminated again there was only one window in it.

__

You're not match for me

"keep talking" the woman said, still typing, she expected all that and was prepared to it. 

Her program was designed to make Sonic believe she was unable to find him but reality was that it was a virus that would stick to every program he would write..., next time he tried to hack into some server the virus would send her an email with the phone number...the real phone number he was using to connect to the internet...that would take them to his location and voila!, another hacker out of the streets thanks to her.

Thanks to Shiva.

__

You know you can't beat me...

Sonic's ego really amused her but she understood that guy who, protected by anonymity, could break all rules and laws and cheat every security interfase in 32 bits...the list of Sonic's crimes was long and included sabotage to very important networks like that of the White House and the FBI criminal data base...he wasn't trying to delete himself from there, oh, no, he was not...he was looking something unknown...

He was a challenge.

That was the main reason for the why they assigned that case to her.

Her career as FBI expert in cyber terrorism was long in spite of her age, she was very skilled and had a long list of cyber criminals out of the streets and into prisons...she had respected position in the Bureau and her reputation was stellar not only there but in the cyber space.

Every hacker was afraid of the Queen of Life and Death... _Shiva_, that was her identity in the binary lands.

__

So...Shiva...want to know my number?...we could spend some quality time together...

Shiva laughed.

Sonic was a hacker with the soul of a comedian.

"keep talking..." she said, looking how a new window informed her the program was successfully infecting the hosts file's ...soon, the phone number of that man would appear in the screen and she would _hack the hacker_

She decided to play along to win some time

So she replied to his message.

"want me to cook?, how about Italian?"

the answer appeared below

__

Nah, I prefer mexican if you don't mind.

"Mexican it is then...I will make sure you'll receive some nice chiles poblanos in jail " she typed and chuckled. Two more minutes...

__

Sorry but I won't be in jail...as a matter of fact...you're the one that is in jail....

She frowned.

"what?"

__

The Matrix, Shiva... the Matrix has you...

She leaned back...the Matrix was some sort of legend among hackers...all of them talked about it...it was something they wanted to discover but nobody knew how...

"show me the Matrix, Sonic..."

the answer caught her by surprise.

__

I will, Shiva...but you're not ready yet...they control you and you don't even know it...look around...you're surrounded by the Matrix and you don't even notice...but I assure you...you will be with me and we will be invincible.

"are you proposing to me?" She typed but the words in the screen were so much to pass unnoticed...her natural curiosity was awaken...maybe once he was taken in custody she would ask him was what all that Matrix Hocus Pocus .

The trace program sent her the information she wanted.

Sonic's phone number.

She swirled in her chair until she was facing another computer.

She typed the number and waited.

A soft chime from the other computer made her look that way.

__

Want my phone number, eh, Shiva?

She returned her attention to the monitor in front of her.

The phone number she got was from Seattle.

And it was her mother's telephone...

Shiva opened her mouth in shock...

Just then her cellular phone rang.

She flipped it open and looked the number in the little screen.

It was her mother's...but she knew she was not...

"yes?"

"Digital telephony...I love it " a male's voice said.

"I will get you, Sonic" Shiva said, angry 

"oh, don't be that hard on you, Shiva " Sonic said and laughed " I have certain help you will have someday"

"you..."

"I gotta go, sweetheart, " Sonic said , " and, by the way...you just deleted the FBI employee data base...you better have some money saved up because there will be no pay check this week...and...you better come up with an explanation because emails had been sent to all your co workers informing what you just did..."

Shiva threw the phone away 

It hit the nearest wall and become a pile of tiny plastic and electronic junk.

The door to her office was knocked.

She collapsed in her chair and closed her eyes.

The door swung open 

A bunch of angry looking employees walked in.

Shiva knew the day was officially becoming a bunch of crap.

***

The man across the desk was very angry.

And she didn't think it was related to the Data base issue.

Mr. Richards, FBI director for Seattle's office took off his lasses and cleaned them with the soft towel he always had in the top left drawer of his desk.

When he was satisfied he looked at Shiva.

"Agent McPherson ...the report here " and he pointed at a file in his desk " says Sonic called you to your cellular phone and that you destroyed it by throwing it against a wall...is that true?"

"yes, sir "

"I will put aside the fact that you left us without pay check this week and until the data base is fixed for now and will concentrate in business..." a pause " Gillian, you knew very well that the capture of Sonic would be managed using the regular tracing methods, don't you?"

"yes sir "

"and you knew all attempts to find him had to be authorized?"

"yes sir "

"then why you created a program, uploaded it to our networks, contacted Sonic and let him fool you leaving the entire Bureau without pay check In the process?"

Gillian cleared her throat and leaned in.

"Sir, I had every reason to believe Sonic had access to our networks and that his access was granted easier than we thought "

Richards frowned. 

"yes...he found out my mother's phone number even when my personal data is encrypted in one of our servers...if he was able to do that then I chose to believe he knew when we were going to look for him"

Richards pondered the matter for a couple of seconds.

"and the software you created...?"

"it was a tracing program in the form of a virus, it was supposed to give me his phone number but he ...." pause "he ..."

"he simply used it to hack into our data base using your identity..." Richards completed the sentence

"yes..." Gillian blushed " he is very good"

Richards sighed.

"get out " he said " ad if you try to do this once more time consider yourself out of the case, ok?"

Gillian was about to reply to that when a cold and sharp voice was heard.

"you may want to reconsider, Mr. Richardson "

Gillian looked over her shoulder to the trio of me in gray suits who just walked in, they were using sun glasses and they were hard wired.

"Who are you?"

"I am agent Smith " the man replied, taking of his sunglasses to reveal a pair of unnatural Ice blue eyes. " and I am here to inform you of agent's McPherson's transference."

"transference?" they both asked at unison

"We have been following her career since she started " another man in gray suit said sounding just like Smith.

"and we want her to work for us" the third man completed the sentence in the same cold tone.

"where are you from?"

Smith pointed at Richard's computer

"you just received the notification "

Richards looked at the monitor with curiosity.

A window said he had an important email in his inbox.

"what are you, Merlin?" Gillian asked

Smith smiled coldly.

Richards opened the e-mail and read it.

Gillian looked at the trio of mysterious men and shivered, there was something completely strange in those characters...they looked like some sort of machines...efficient....sharp...cold and without soul.

Not humans...like Terminators in suit.

She sighed...where she was being transferred after all?

Richards nodded and turned to face Smith. 

"Ok...she is yours, " he said " agent McPherson, it seems you just got a promotion and will be working for the National Security agency...your immediate superior is Agent Smith here"

She sounded quite confused and so was she

Agent Smith reached his hand and she shook it mechanically.

"if you'd follow us please there is something I want to discuss with you"

Gillian nodded and followed the other two out of the office.

"oh, " Smith paused at the door holding it open while he put his sunglasses on again " and your data base is fixed...lucky us that we got a copy of it"

"How...?" 

but Smith was gone leaving Richardson wondering how he could find out so soon .

"Damn clairvoyant"

Smith opened the door to an empty meeting room and motioned Gillian in.

Terminator 2 and 3 remained outside.

she sat

Smith sighed and sat across the table.

"so, Agent McPherson, it seems that you're a very skilled hacker working for the good side"

"nice Ice breaker " she smiled " yes, I'd say so"

"you're just 25 and your record is impressive " Smith continued " I am sure you'll be a nice asset to our agency"

"is there a point looming somewhere in the horizon?" Gillian asked, leaning back.

"Sonic" Smith said " we want Sonic"

"Me too"

"I see you share our enthusiasm in meeting him that is why you're working for us now...you are wasted in this office and the hackers you usually _shot down_ are no match for this guy"

"I know " Gillian felt flattered even when that man caused a tremendous repulsion to her "so..when do I start?"

"you start tomorrow, Gillian " Smith said pulling out a cellular phone from of his pockets and an ID with her photo and name on it " this phone will one take my calls and this ID is the only way to get into our building so don't miss it...it won't be replaced "

"Ok...and where am I gonna show up tomorrow?"

"The address has been sent to your email, read it and delete the message immediately and be there at 8 am tomorrow "

"Ok " she rose " is that all?"

"yes...I only have one more question..."

"yes?"

"what Sonic told you about The Matrix?"

She chuckled " don't tell me you believe in that ?"

"listen, Agent McPherson if we are going to work in a trust based relationship I would suggest you to tell me everything, is that understood?"

"if that's an order..."

"it is not an order but an advise...for your own good of course, "

Gillian nodded " ok...he told he would show me what the Matrix is"

"see how easy it is?" Smith smiled " now go, and don't worry about your stuff, Agent Jones and Kane will move them to your new desk"

"perfect..."

She left.

Agent Jones walked in followed by Agent Kane

"she is the target this time" Agent Jones said

"Sonic will try to look for her and then we will make our move" Agent Smith stated

"why don't we _wire_ her?"

"No, they would find out easily..." Smith explained " this time we have to be more cautious...we will keep an eye on her as she try to bust Sonic and then we will get him and the codes for Zion's mainframe"

"what if she finds out and help him?"

"the usual...she will be destroyed "


	2. Sonic

Vick says: chapter 2, meet the crew of the Mordecai and discover Sonic's mission.

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding movie.

THE MATRIX:

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

Book 1: The Agent and the Hacker.

Double Personality.

Chapter 2

The Mordecai

"Operator"

"I am ready..."

"You're so stupid..."

"Let's say I wanted to have a little fun at her expense."

"You know damn well you don't have to risk yourself," the voice on the phone said. "If you completed your mission then..."

"Yeah...yeah..."

"Jeremy is waiting for you," the operator said, cutting the conversation short. "The corner of second and Ricketson drive."

"On my way"

Sonic hit the 'end' key of his cellular phone and tacked it in one of the pockets of his long coat.

He then drank the remnants of a Coke and threw the empty can to a garbage container nearby.

"Have to keep the world clean," he said and began walking down the street.

People passed him with their minds on their own business. For them, the tall man with sunglasses and heavy black raincoat was just another person in this crazy world.

The man had black short hair and was very good looking.

He walked with his hands inside the pockets of his raincoat and looked straight ahead.

Rain began to fall over Seattle, but the man didn't even seem to notice. He just continued walking, indifferent to the people trying to find shelter from water. For him, there was no rain.

Thunder hit the sky.

Sonic smiled... how he missed all that ...Seattle and its daily rain blues...but he had now more important things to focus on...he had a mission.

The corner of Second and Ricketson Drive, a phone booth.

When Sonic arrived the phone began to ring.

He got in.

He picked up the phone and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again he was not in Seattle anymore.

Jeremy's face was above his.

"So...having fun, eh, Sonic?"

He didn't move. It was useless when he was still plugged.

He felt Jeremy pull the jack out from the back of his neck.

He sat in the suspensor chair and looked around, yawning. The entire crew of the Mordecai was looking at him.

Joyce with her beautiful face illuminated with a smile was next to a very serious looking Abraham who was shaking his head.

The operators, Jung and Freud were still at the isle where all the equipment to transmit the pirate signal was...computers...monitors...never ending cables and terminals everywhere...the heart of the Mordecai...the main deck.

Jeremy slapped him on the back.

Freud laughed and rose. He was tall, as tall as him, six feet, four inches...he had the face of an assassin and a big mustache. His body was strong and so was his gaze, now directed to him...anyway, in spite of his appearance, he was the most friendly man on board.

Jung was a fragile looking young woman with deep blue eyes framed by a long black hair ...his face reflected her intelligence and was always calm, even in the most disastrous event she remained that way... imperturbable, nothing could surprise her.

Jeremy was the Captain of the Mordecai, and he took that job very seriously, why not? All of their lives depended on his ability to deal with problems.

He was Thirty-nine and sincerely hoped to reach the 40 years without being considered a missed in action hero of Zion.

Like countless crews and ships...

Sonic leaped from his suspensor chair and stretched his arms.

"I was enjoying the rain," he said.

Jeremy sighed and folded his arms.

"When you got in you said you'd approach to her "

"I did"

"Not as Sonic!" Jeremy said, " not using a computer!"

"She contacted me!"

"Now she is working for Agents!" Jeremy said, " How do you think we will approach to her? Hm?"

"I will get her, ok?"

"Smith will be there!..."

"I know"

"So?" 

Sonic really wanted to run away...he was tired...

"I will get her...believe me..." he stated, angrily.

"Next time, Joyce will go in with you"

"I don't need a nanny." 

Joyce chuckled.

"You will follow my orders, understood?" Jeremy breathed deeply. 

Sonic walked away.

"You know, " Abraham said when he was gone "This guy will get us in trouble."

"Maybe...but he is the best we've got"

"I'd differ." Jung said, talking with her sharp British accent "Abraham can do it too."

"Yes, but I need him for other tasks on board the Mordecai...he is the best pilot there is...and knowing where we are I'd prefer to have him here at hand if we have problems...Sentinels have been swarming around these last days."

Freud nodded.

"They destroyed the _Helios_ yesterday..." somebody said. "And the _Satan _barely made it...only the operators survived...he had to use the EMP even when the others were still plugged."

Nobody replied to that.

"Abraham, Joyce, take us back to Zion "

That order was received with general good humor.

"About time!" Joyce smiled relieved.

"Enjoy every minute you'll have on leave" Jeremy said, leaving the main deck. "We'll go back out once the _Mordecai_ receives maintenance..."

Jeremy walked out leaving his crew talking cheerfully about the things they'd do at home.

He didn't share their joy.

The perspective of returning home after three weeks in 'the caves' was very pleasing but it only meant more time out once the ship was repaired and refueled ...

Hackers...they needed a hacker.

Shiva, Sonic's Nemesis was a good candidate but she was now working for the Agents and the last thing Jeremy wanted was losing a crew member....if Sonic got caught by Smith or other agents he'd have to unplug him...it was something cruel but it had to be done...it was an order for everyone in the crew...if somebody got caught, his included, nobody would try a rescue mission ...they had to pull the plug.

FBI's database had a vast amount of 'cyber terrorists'...candidates for the real world....

Jeremy closed the door to his quarters and sat in his bed, closing his eyes.

The _Mordecai_ began moving.

Jeremy sighed and lay down.

He wished to have a peaceful sleep.

He didn't.


	3. smith's world

****

Vick says: chapter 3 of the FIREWALLS saga, keep reading!...and, oh, I slipped a reference of one of my favorite ships, all of those who know about Japanese anime will remember this fine ship...also...the names of the operators are vague references from another show I like...if you've read my Writer's Bio then you'll know what I am talking about and why I used the name of two of the most famous psychiatrists in history as the name of the operators of the Mordecai

****

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

****

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding movie.

THE MATRIX:

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

Book 1: The Agent and the Hacker.

Double Personality.

Chapter 3

Only humans: Smith's world

The Sentinel followed the human ship for three 24-hour cycles.

Silently luring its prey.

The human vessel was resting inside a cave like a mechanic beast.

The Sentinel sent a message asking for help...it was time to attack.

Six more Sentinels joined for the battle.

They shared information and traced a battle plan, all of this in complete conspiratory binary silence.

Then, they charged against the enemy.

The human vessel reacted by moving quickly inside the cave...perfect...

The vessel's speed increased and its weapons armed.

One of the Sentinels was hit by the vessel's weapons and exploded, hitting a wall in the process...

The other five dodged the fire and continued approaching.

There was a twisted pillar blocking the way leaving just a passage near the floor.

The human hovercraft zeroed that passage and barely made it, destroying another sentinel when it tried to follow it.

The other four had more luck.

One of them grabbed the hull of the human vessel and moved quickly, like a giant mechanic spider, toward the bridge.... the machine guns attempted to destroy it but were ineffective...the Sentinel stopped above a machine gun turret and used its mechanic tentacles to rip open the metallic hull like paper.

Inside a human looked up for a splitting second and continued firing against the other three machines now walking on the hull.

The Sentinel would never understand why that man didn't run for his life...it was about to die but he continued firing with savage fury in his face...humans...

The Sentinel killed him with a clean laser shot that split the human in two.

Then, the Sentinel climbed in the hole.

Inside. More humans...

Two of them fired a hand-held EMP at it...but it was too fast and they were dead a second later, killed by the machine's laser...humans were so weak and fragile...easy targets...

The vessel stopped.

There was a big rock wall ahead...the dead end of that cave...

The battle continued but the ship was lost...

Minutes later...a big explosion closed that cave.

Becoming the grave of a brave crew.

__

Only Humans...

***

The woman collapsed with no apparent reason falling over the body of her companion in a very crowded street.

With no reason.

They were talking in their cellular phones one minute and drop dead the next... just like that.

A big crowd gathered around the bodies, curious...paramedics rushed in trying to help them...there was nothing to be done.

They were dead.

One of the paramedics grabbed the phone and pressed it against his ear.

Nothing.

A police officer began dispersing the crowd telling there was nothing to see there.

The scene would appear in the news like a strange event with no explanation.

But it had one.

Sonic and Joyce wouldn't say a word, though...they just continued walking away with their heart pounding hard in their chest ...that could happen to them...that was their possible fate...dropping dead in the Matrix while their body died in the real world.

Joyce took Sonic's hand and he squeezed it gently.

Sonic's phone rang.

"Yes?"

"Keep walking and forget what you saw, O.K.?" Jung's voice said in her natural neutral tone. "Concentrate in the mission"

"Yeah..." Sonic said, "We were supposed to meet them."

This time Jeremy's voice was heard.

"You'll have to continue on your own...the _Macross _is gone."

Sonic looked at his companion once the phone was in his pocket.

"We are on our own...another one was destroyed."

Joyce nodded and tried to regain control of her emotions. After a few tries, she succeeded.

Sonic started the engine of the Viper GTS they were using for the mission and drove down the street, melting into Seattle's noon traffic.

***

The building where Gillian had to show up next day was a high skyscraper guarded by persons who dressed and acted like Smith… the building was full of them ...in every floor and every office ...and no sound was heard...nobody talked...nobody moved...they just stood in their places like they were waiting for something to happen.

When she said 'Hello,' to some of them they just looked at her as if she was a big, interesting, insect... weird people, she thought.

In spite of all that, Gillian McPherson was satisfied with her new office.

It was bigger and had better equipment than the one she had in the FBI.

She had the most interesting piece of equipment, computers so fast she continuously giggled like a school girl when they concluded their tasks with awesome speed ...it was a computer Heaven... also, the network and other hardware was simply breathtaking ...she could live there...

The data base she had access to had a lot of information about the entire population of United States...Social Security number...credit card numbers...addresses...phone numbers...all at the reach of her hand...Sonic would be trapped in no time...

Smith was very clear when he defined her duty...she had to trap Sonic...but she wouldn't participate in the action, all she had to do was to look for him, find his location and tell them where he was...pure and simple...Smith also said she had to report any conversation with Sonic...word by word...

Gillian said she'd do it and then locked in her office to start with her new job.

Smith showed up at noon.

He was in some sort of mechanic good humor.

He removed his sunglasses.

"Any update in the search for Sonic?"

"No," Gillian said without looking him. " He's been very quiet...."

"How do you know when he is online?"

"He usually contacts me," she stated, "He likes it when I can't get him."

Smith nodded "You know, Agent McPherson, there is something I am trying to understand."

"Yes?"

He sat in the chair across the desk. 

"When people hear about the Matrix they usually become curious. But you seem to be very calm about it." 

Gillian chuckled "My mother used to say the same when she talked me about Hell."

"So, you do not believe in the Matrix?"

"I only believe in what I see," she stated, pointing at him. "I believe in tangible things like you, the chair, the wall, the computer... not in secret societies like this Matrix."

Smith smiled "You are a very logical person."

"All the time."

"I am glad to hear it."

"What about you?" she asked.

"Me?"

"Agent Smith is a very silly cover up for your real name, don't you think?" she smiled, sipping her iced tea "c'mon...tell me...what's your real name?"

"My name is not important, Agent McPherson, all you have to know is that I am a person dedicated to chase criminals and keep the law and order in this real world."

"You're so serious," Gillian continued with her job. "I still wonder why you decided to bring me here with you."

"Let us say you're a very skilled Agent, Miss McPherson, and that it is good to have you working for us...hackers are a deadly virus that is spreading quickly in our networks and we have to eliminate them."

"That's my job," she said, proudly.

Smith rose.

"Good...now, continue..."

Gillian saw him leaving and thought, amused that the building and the personnel in it were just part of _Smith's World._

***

Six hours later she stepped out the elevator in the parking lot of the building.

Outside, rain was pouring down.

She walked to her parking slot. She was tired.

Her white Pontiac Grand Prix's lights blinked when she disengaged the alarm.

Gillian yawned.

She sat in the driver's seat and started the engine.

She felt the cold metal of a gun against the back of her neck.

"Drive," a male's voice commanded from the back seat. "And don't play games with me. I'll kill you as fast you wouldn't have the chance to blink."

"They will get you."

"Maybe… but you'd be dead by then...Now drive."

She pulled the car backwards and then drove toward the exit and stopped at the gate wishing the guard would ask her to get down.

A woman in black outfit was there.

The guard's whereabouts were a mystery.

The woman smiled in her direction and then opened the gate.

"Wait," the man in the back seat commanded, "she's coming with us."

The woman opened the passenger's door and sat.

"Did you kill the guard?"

"No, " the woman said, "He's out to lunch"

"Drive."

The Grand Prix sped out the parking lot and turned left.

"Where are we going?"

"The old cinema in E.L. Scott's boulevard " 

"Who are you?"

"I am still waiting for that mexican food."

Just then she ventured to look in the mirror the man in the back seat.

"Sonic?"

"Hello sweetheart" he smiled and leaned back still aiming at her. " Smith hired you to chase me?"

"Yes..." she replied, there was no need to lie due to the circumstances.

"How sweet of him, don't you think, Joyce?" Sonic chuckled. "Now look here Agent McPherson, I know you think I am nothing but a cyber wacko who spend more time with a computer than with humans, but let me tell you something...if you dare...I will give you the true vision of what the real world is."

"This is the real world."

"Like I told you the last time, you're the one who is trapped, " Sonic said, his smile vanishing. "I'd like to propose something..."

"Put the gun down," she said. "What can I do? You've got me two to one, and I am driving. Why can't we just talk?"

"The old cinema..." commanded Joyce drawing her 9 mm "Don't be smart or we'll kill you for your own good."

"How can that be good for me?" she asked. 

"Agent Smith would kill you just to know where am I?"

"Ok...this is getting weird...I know you're a famous hacker but why is Smith willing to get you?"

"Feeling curious?"

The car stopped at a red light.

"Listen..." she tried to look at him but the gun stood in the way "This guy promoted me because he says I am very good and that I'm the only one who can capture you."

Joyce sighed, "You're what he will use to capture him. He knows we want you...That's why he hired you and gave you the best office in that building packed with Agents.... agents of the Matrix."

"You're very naïve." Sonic said, "But let us explain everything."

"Ok.... I'm listening."

"Very well, Dr. Crane... " Joyce replied, "But first you're taking us to the cinema."

***

The old cinema

They neared an old, rotten building that would be smashed to pieces any minute.

Gillian parked the car behind the building and into a little service ramp.

A door was opened for them.

With Joyce behind her Gillian walked in.

Sonic closed the door and locked it.

She was taken to behind the screen.

The room was dusty and seemed like the rest of the building...abandoned...thats why all the electronic equipment in there caught her by surprise...computer monitors...keyboards and other devices were mounted around a chair.

Three more chairs completed the furniture of that room.

"Is this your home?"

"No," Sonic said, sitting. "Please," he invited her to use the chair in front of him.

"Sonic...there is still time ...let me go now and I won't present charges against you...you know damn well kidnapping an agent is federal crime."

Joyce chuckled. "We are not kidnapping you."

"You can go if you wish, Shiva," Sonic added.

She rose.

"Right..." and she started to the door.

"But if you leave now Smith will kill you...that bastard will never stop until either he got me or I am dead."

Gillian lost her patience...she still had her gun.

She withdrew it and swirled, aiming at them.

What she saw next was incredible.

With breathtaking speed, Joyce jumped and back kicked the gun out from her hand, then fell in front of her and swept her feet out from under her, making her fall to the ground hard.

She didn't look tired or anything when she helped her up.

"I..."

"That was stupid," Sonic said, annoyed. "Why don't you simply listen to me?"

She rubbed her hand. "Why?"

"You have been looking for me for the wrong reason. You're no match for me. Not because you're not good but because I am aware of the Matrix."

Shiva got angry...Matrix , Matrix, Matrix...she was getting tired of that...

"What the hell is the Matrix?"

Sonic searched in his pockets and produced a little Silver case that was promptly opened.

Two pills were there.

"No one can answer you that question. You have to wake up from it and see the real world with your own eyes. You said you believed in tangible things. Well...I am offering you tangible proof of its existence."

"What are the pills for?"

"Ah," Sonic took the blue pill. "If you decide you like your present life then you will eat this pill...and you'll have your life back...you'll try to get me but the day you succeed ...well...that day you'll die."

He gave her the blue pill.

"This one, Shiva will show you tangible proof of the existence of the Matrix but it will cost you something...something very important...your life will change and will be no step back...you'll meet the real enemy and will see the real Smith and the real Agents..."

He gave her the red pill.

Shiva held them at her eye level. That was so stupid and so weird to be true...what could that tiny little pills contain?...drugs?...poison?...but the real question here was...did she want to know what the Matrix was?

Good question.

Sonic sighed.

Joyce's cellular began ringing 

"Yes?" Her expression changed...her eyes widened and she began looking around. "Sonic?" she called.

A detonation was heard...the world seemed to move slow motion as Sonic's left shoulder seemed to explode...the bullet continued it's trajectory and destroyed a computer monitor the which fell to the ground in pieces and dragging down other equipment.

Sonic moved...his left arm hanged useless.

Blood was flowing from the wound and spilt to the ground.

"Damn it," he said in pain.

"Agents!" Joyce yelled and pointed to the other side of the cinema screen.

There was a tumult of footsteps and voices.... cops ...SWAT maybe...

"They followed us!" Sonic grabbed Joyce for support. 

"What's going on?" Gillian asked, "What the hell is happening?"

"Smith," Joyce said and helped her friend to move toward the door.

They heard how the door was kicked open and more footsteps...they were surrounded...

"Are you with us?...or with them?" Sonic asked,

She noticed she still had the pills

"You're going to be arrested " Gillian said, her FBI agent side surfacing. "They won't hurt me."

"Really?" Sonic asked, starting to feel dizzy...the wound was bad and he knew he had to get out of there...he knew there was no real wound and that his body was intact on board the Mordecai but his mind experienced the wound.... he felt his blood flowing...he felt pain...and he knew that he'd die there... 

"Let's move" Joyce said when the voices got louder...they heard the clear click of guns being armed...a little canister rolled inside the room and began puffing smoke...pepper gas... 

"I am FBI agent Gillian McPherson !" she said, rising her voice "Don't shoot!...I have the suspects in custody!"

Gillian kicked away the pepper gas. 

"Don't move!" A commanding voice said.

Joyce was talking into her cell phone.

"Good work, Agent McPherson."

Joyce and the weak Sonic looked at the man in gray suit that walked in the room.

Smith.

"This man is Sonic." Gillian said.

Both pills were now in one of her pockets.

"I know.... Daniel Newman ....also known as Sonic...."

"Fuck you, Smith."

He smiled.

"No...Mr. Newman...fuck you!"

__

The window in the service room behind you.

Smith aimed his gun and fired but Joyce and Sonic were not there anymore.

The escaped through a small door in the bottom of the room.

So quickly Gillian couldn't believe it.

Smith looked at her.

"Good job, Agent McPherson."

And with that he left, running after them.

How far an injured man could get?

***

__

how is he?

He's dying ...

Quick...Freud...a way out...

Sonic tripped and fell heavily...but he mustered all the strength in his body and with the aid of Joyce got up and continued running, but his pace was getting slow every minute and Smith could be anywhere.

People looked at the couple with a mixture of fear and surprise.

__

"Please...Freud...hurry!"

"There's an abandoned restaurant in Salisbury street , two blocks ahead...can you make it?"

"Yes."

She helped Sonic and crossed a street...a heavy Kenworth truck flew by, them missing by mere inches and killing two business men in the process...Joyce didn't have to look back to know who was at the wheel.

Smith was getting closer.

Sonic was panting feeling weaker...one more block...

Joyce stopped...Sonic kneeled down not knowing if he'd be able to get up again...blood formed little puddles at his feet.

"You're not bleeding," Joyce said. "Can you hear me?...the wound isn't real!"

Sonic jerked when the bullet hit him in the back breaking some ribs and piercing a lung.

"Go," he babbled, "Leave me ...here... Joyce…"

"I won't," she said fiercely.

Smith fired again missing by a hair's breadth.

She looked over her shoulder and saw the Agent running with unnatural speed while still shooting.

Joyce made her decision.

She dragged her friend across the six lane street in front of her.

Cars began braking...a red Beetle hit a Ford Taurus who spun out of control and hit an speeding tow truck...the driver lost control and rammed against the persons in the sidewalk, including Smith....

Joyce ran on.

A Mustang almost ran over them but Joyce hoisted Sonic and jumped, landing on the other side of the street.

Smith was nowhere in sight.

As quick as they could they reached the restaurant.

Desperately, Joyce kicked the door open and dragged her friend inside as quick as she could, trying to find the only possible way out...If Sonic died...

A phone began ringing somewhere.

The abandoned restaurant was a mess of dirty tables and chairs everywhere...the phone...the damn phone had to be somewhere in that place...

Joyce found it behind the bar where she promptly dragged Sonic.

"You first..." she said, kneeling down to see Sonic's face.

His eyes were open.

He was not looking anything...

"He is dead," Smith's voice echoed in the room. "And soon you will be too."

Joyce caressed her friend's face as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Another hero of Zion.


	4. Living in the blue pill

****

Vick says: chapter 4 of the FIREWALLS saga, keep reading!...Sonic is dead...I bet you have a lot of questions but answer will be given in time...Smith will pay for it.

****

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

****

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding saga.

THE MATRIX:

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

Book 1: The Agent and the Hacker.

Chapter 4

Living in the blue pill

"Big party, huh?"

The paramedic smiled at Gillian as she cleaned her eyes with a solution to remove the effects of the pepper gas.

"Big enough," she said. 

"They say one of them escaped and the other is, well, dead." June, the paramedic, leaned back and looked at Gillian professionally. "How does that feel?"

"Fine...but my throat hurts."

"Oh, just some side effects of the gas...it'll disappear in an hour or so."

June used the stethoscope to hear her heart and lungs.

"You sound good," she said. "Are you dizzy?"

"No."

June removed the stethoscope from her ears and left it hanging in her neck. 

"You can go now."

Gillian smiled and stepped down the ambulance to find Smith there.

"One escaped," he said. 

"Yeah...I heard..." 

"You are very lucky ... They wanted to kill you," Smith said, sounding positively hypocrite. 

"Well, thanks for saving me." She started to walk away.

"Agent McPherson," Smith called "did they gave you something?"

"Like what?" she asked but she knew exactly what he was talking about. 

"A pill."

Gillian shook her head "He gave me nothing."

"Good..." Smith said. "Let Agent James take you home."

Agent James suddenly appeared next to her.

__

Wow, this guys really move like cats, she thought, shaking her head.

"No, thank you, my car is around the corner."

On the way home Gillian thought about what Sonic said...he said he'd give her tangible proof of the Matrix...he said...he said Smith would kill her once he was arrested or dead...well, now he was dead...would that mean her doom? Hard to know but definitively strange...that Smith character was a real piece of something...

The pills.

How had he known about the pills?

How had he known she was there?

How in the name of god can a man endure a cloud of pepper gas without even blinking?

She didn't know.

Gillian accelerated to pass a slow bus and headed south toward her home...it was late...midnight...and she was tired but...her mind was alert...her natural curiosity asked so many questions...maybe a good snack would help her.

With her mind busy with the idea of a hamburger she tried to remember where the nearest Carl's Jr. was.

Sonic was dead.

But his voice still echoed in her mind...if you want your life as it is you'll eat the blue pill...well...she extracted it from her pocket...a blue pill...the life she wanted.

And a red one...the key to find out whether he was telling the truth or not.

The Matrix...

A hacker's hocus-pocus...

And yet...so true...true in the sense of their belief ...Sonic and that woman, Joyce wanted to show her something...what? The Matrix?

A car approached too much so she slowed down.

This is the real world...she thought...a world of idiots who wouldn't drive in their lane...a world of criminals and cops willing to find them...a world of days and nights, rain and heat...this is the world that is real...the world I live in.

I'll show you the real world...Sonic said.

The red pill.

She then laughed...the comic side of the matter ...please, she thought, be realistic...this is just bullshit...real life? The Matrix?

She'd eat the red pill. Yeah...and then she'd eat the blue one...

Right there, while driving...

She was about to put the blue pill in her mouth when she heard the buzz of a cell phone in the back seat.

That was too much for a single day...too much...Sonic, Smith, the pills and the Matrix...

Now what?

She pulled her car to the curb and stopped.

The phone buzzed again.

She picked the phone.

"My name is Jeremy." 

"What do you want?"

"Don't eat the pills...not until some of us is with you...if you do it then you'll die and we won't have a chance to help you."

Gillian rolled her eyes.

"Listen, mister I don't know what kind of sick people you are but I won't play along...ok?"

"Sonic died because he thought he could rescue you...he thought you'd be perfect for our rebellion against the machines."

"He is dead," Gillian said. 

"Do you want to keep living a lie?"

"Leave me the fuck alone!" she yelled in the phone.

"We'll be in the De Kanter Hotel, in the corner of..."

"I know where it is..."

"Fine...make your choice but do not waste time calling Smith...he is looking for you and...If you don't want to find out who is the liar by the hard way I'd suggest you to meet us before he finds you."

"He knows I am going home," she said, likely to herself.

She heard the man chuckling.

"See? And I bet he tried one of his friends to take you home."

"Yes..."

"We'll be here." the man called Jeremy hung up.

Shiva sighed and accelerated, U turning in the next intersection, the hotel was near and so was her home.

"What are you doing?" She asked herself, aloud.

I am trying to see what is going on here.

The red pill, the flight of Dorothy

"This guys have a fetish for old buildings." Gillian thought when she parked her car in front of an abandoned Hotel.

The De Kanter Hotel was a six stories building with all the signs of being built in the forties...and was condemned to demolition as an official paper said to all who wanted to read it.

The door was blocked.

But she knew the people who called her weren't joking and that they were there, waiting.

She walked into an alley that led her to the back of the building.

A door was open.

She stepped in.

It was dark and no noises could be heard.

She cursed her luck...her gun was in the car.... what was she thinking? That those people were not dangerous? ...Well...Sonic could've kill her and he didn't...they seemed to want something from her and that was an advantage point for her...whatever it was they wouldn't hurt her until they got what they were looking for.

She folded her arms when she walked in the lobby.

Nothing...

Just when she was about to quit all that and go out a voice was heard.

"So glad you could make it," a male's voice said.

"Jeremy..." she said, although she couldn't see him.

"Yes." the voice replied and a flashlight lit in the stairwell to her left. " I'd turn the lights on but It'd be strange for passing people and attract your friend here...please...come with us."

"Us?" she asked and then felt the gun in her back.

"Joyce won't shoot you unless necessary, Shiva..."

"Walk."

"I am sorry about your friend," Shiva said as she walked up the stairs. 

"Shut up."

"I didn't know he was following me."

"If you're not one of us then you're one of them." Jeremy's voice said from a floor above. "Joyce knows that but she liked Sonic like all of us."

"He was a criminal."

Joyce pushed her, Shiva almost tripped "I said shut up."

They continued in silence until they reached the sixth floor, room 615.

There was light in there.

And a copy of the equipment she saw in the cinema, every piece was there...the monitors...the chairs...the computers...the modems...everything...

The man seated in front of the equipment dedicated just one second to look at her...in his eyes she saw anger.

"We're online," was all he said.

"Welcome, Shiva."

Jeremy was tall, strong and Caucasian, his eyes were green and his hair short and blonde, he was dressed in leather and wearing sunglasses.

"What's all this?"

"Your way out if you want it."

"Would you stop talking like that?" she asked, exasperated... "Why you keep talking like if you knew something I don't?"

"Because it is the true."

"Really?" she laughed, sarcastic " what are you, Merlin?"

"No." Jeremy smiled "but I can do some tricks ...one of them is taking you out of the Matrix."

"Listen...your friend Sonic died for this bullshit...why don't we all go home and continue with our lives?"

"Why you are here?"

"Because I want to see what is all this..." She pointed at the equipment Abraham was manipulating "This Matrix stuff is driving me crazy...Smith and all of his Terminator-like zombies seems to want to know everything about it and you...you too...tell me...are you like some sort of sect? A new religion?"

"I can't tell you ...but I invite you to look at it with your own eyes."

Silence.

Joyce closed the door and walked to help Abraham.

"Who are you?" Shiva's heart was pounding hard "What's all this?"

"Are you afraid?"

"Hell yes."

Jeremy removed his glasses and where she expected to see nothing but a cold expression she found warmth and understanding.

She couldn't help to feel better.

"You still have the pills, Shiva."

It was not a question.

"Yes."

"Have you chosen?"

Gillian McPherson ate the pill and her world changed forever...in fact, she died to the world and never was seen again...at least...not like agent McPherson.... not like a human who paid her taxes and had a mother and a father...no.she died to give birth to Shiva.

The last thing she heard was her own scream and then fell in a world of nightmare.

Secretly, she would regret her decision forever.


	5. The new member of the crew

****

Vick says: chapter 5 of the FIREWALLS saga, keep reading!...Shiva is free...I bet you have a lot of questions but answer will be given in time...Smith will pay for it....I assure you...

****

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

****

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding saga.

THE MATRIX:

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

Book 1: The Agent and the Hacker.

Chapter 5

The new member of the crew

Requiem for a friend

The pain was an inferno.

The weakness in her body unbearable... her whereabouts a complete mystery.

She had no memory of the most recent events and all she could recall was flashes of horrible visions of floating in some kind of liquid...then sitting to discover her body naked and connected to bizarre cables that plugged directly to her body.

Then pulling a tube out of her throat and vomiting more liquid and breathing the thin cold air of a strange new world.

The heard the hum of electricity and saw, with horror, more persons inside capsules just like the one she was in and then...her memory clouded and all she could remember was a big spider of some kind clamping a claw around a plug in her head then.... nothing but the sensation of falling and landing in cold water.

She also remembered how she tried to swim...she knew how to swim but she couldn't...her body didn't respond in the way she wanted...in the way it had to...

And just when she thought she'd die...

She was hoisted by God knows what and thrown on a hard cold metal floor.

And then she passed out.

When she woke up she felt horrible.

There was a bright light above her.

It hurt her eyes.

She closed them and focused on hearing the sounds around her.

She heard a heart monitor beeping to her left...her own heart, she supposed.

It sounded weak but constant.

She also heard metallic sounds like those of footsteps on metal floor, hatches being closed and opened...it was like being on a submarine, she thought.

Where am I?

She heard a door opening with a squeak and opened her eyes but the light made her close them again.

"Ah, you woke up," a female voice said. It was a voice she didn't know. A calm voice with a British accent. "How do you feel?"

"Where are we?" she managed to ask in spite of the burning sensation in her throat 

"We're on the Mordecai" was the answer. 

Shiva heard how the woman hovered around her.

A wave of dizziness kept her eyes shut for a couple of minutes in the which she felt the unknown woman touching her arms and legs with professional attitude...probably she was examining the plugs in them...she felt some sort of electric discharge when she inserted something in one.

"You'll be sleeping for the rest of the process " the woman stated " it is not very pleasing to feel the needles being inserted"

"Needles? Are you a doctor?"

"For the muscular reconstruction," the woman informed. "And, you'd be surprised on how many things I am...now...sleep..."

She began feeling the effects of the sedative, one last question popped in her mind and due to the importance of it she asked it even when she was afraid she wouldn't hear the answer...

"Are we still in Seattle?"

"Yeah, " she heard the woman chuckling " Niles Crane will be waiting for you..."

***

Everybody was gathered around the chair where he died.

Sonic.

"Ignorance is bliss," someone said.

Jeremy clenched his teeth. "We all believe in something... that is why we are here in the first place...we all had the choice to remain free and live in Zion but we chose to participate in this rebellion...Sonic, like the rest of us, knew the dangers are real and that death is part of what we do..."

"She is not that important..." Joyce said. " We could find another...Sonic died because of her"

"Sonic died because of the Agents," Jeremy said, trying to help Joyce focusing her anger to where it belonged. "Shiva is not part of them and now is the member of this crew..."

"I will kill her." Joyce whispered.

"You're not going to kill anyone." Jeremy stated, his voice rising. "Sonic is gone and there is nothing we can do...we still have a war to fight and the last thing I want is you chasing another human for revenge..."

"I loved him."

Nobody replied to that.

"Jung, Freud," Jeremy commanded, "Load us up, we have a service to attend."

It was a new tradition among the crews.

To pay respect to the one who fell in battle.

At the same time, his body was reduced to atoms in the nuclear reactor of the ship.

There was no time for a real grave.

Nobody wanted to see that with their own eyes, that was why they used the Construct to create a fake funeral service while the real one happened.

Freud would incinerate Sonic's body.

Jung would be the operator for the rest of them.

The sound of a bagpipe came from a distant point in that hill where the group was gathered around the new sepulchre...soft wind blew from the north, warm, carrying the cry of the bagpipe directly to them.

Around them, other graves marked the place where other crewmembers were buried.

Names from all the missing in action could be read in the tombstones...some names were familiar, some other don't but the atmosphere claimed the same tragedy.

"We'll continue..." Jeremy said, "And we will enjoy the privilege of a world of our own...some day...when the battle is over..."

"And to live what?" Joyce asked, bitterly "To live a life in the Hell Earth has become? To eat a pudding of vitamin and carbohydrates every day?" She released from Abraham's supporting embrace and walked to the edge of the grave...the soft aroma of roses and carnations surrounded them "This is a lie...we will fight and will die just like the people in this virtual reality...that is the way it will be..."

"No," Jeremy said, his voice angry and troubled. That was a future he refused ... he would see the day Zion was free, he'd live in a world of humans...a devastated world but a world that promised hope. 

"Jeremy..."

"I said no!" the Captain of the Mordecai yelled so fiercely Joyce stepped back "When I was taken out of the Matrix freedom was promised to me in exchange of my fight...well...I will get my freedom."

"I will too," Abraham said "I won't die without fighting...and if I don't make it ... well...some others will."

Joyce saw the two men in front of her, tears rolling down her cheeks. 

She collapsed in Abraham's arms, crying. "I loved him" 

"I know," he said, caressing her hair "And he knew it.... he loved you too."

Jeremy looked at the grave at his feet.

His cell phone rang, breaking the spell.

"Yes?"

"We have a little problem..."

***

Shiva opened her eyes feeling disoriented but better...almost normal...

She heard the hum of some electronic equipment out of sight and, when she tried to move she felt the pinch of the acupuncture like needles in her body...she looked at them and saw how they were connected with fiber optics to a machine hanging above her.

She was still naked.

The metal door swung open and a tall man with dark skin walked in. He looked at her in a way that sent Goosebumps all the way down her spine...she wanted to move but did not want to take the risk herself.

The man consulted a monitor and then rubbed his chin.

He was bald, just like her and had the same outlets in his body...arms...and in the back of her head...her urge to get answers increased but that man definitively was not the one she'd chose to get some.

The man folded his arms and sighed at the sight of her.

"I still wonder why Jung didn't cover you...this ship is too cold..." he said and for a single moment she thought there was another person in the room, an invisible one because the voice was very different from the one you'd expect in a man like him...it was so polite and beautiful...like the voice of an opera singer... "How do you feel?"

Shiva hesitated for a couple of seconds.

"Are you mute or something?" he smiled and for the first time since he got in she saw there was more in him beyond the appearance of an assassin. "I am Freud," he continued, dragging a little cart next to her bed...there was a little container there along other instruments.

"I am fine..." she said and saw, with great surprise, her voice was normal and that the pain in her chest was gone. 

"Excellent," the man clapped his hands together. "I will remove the needles now..." he informed. "The process is complete...you'll be up in no time. Be a good girl and don't move...I'll get you some clothes once I finish," he said as he put on a pair of surgical gloves.

Shiva nodded.

The process of removing the needles was slow and systematic...first...the man who called himself Freud removed, one by one, the needles in her left leg. Truth to be told, the man worked like a professional medic and did his job with mechanical accuracy.

She shifted uncomfortably when he approached to her genitals.

"I won't be a mean guy, I promise," he said." I'd close my eyes but how would I work?"

"I..."

"Jung is busy...that is why I am here.... she'd do this but it is my shift as doctor now"

So Shiva closed her eyes only hearing the soft clink of the needles being placed on the container...Freud sticked to his promise and continued his job until the last needle was in the container.

"There..."

Shiva opened her eyes and saw him pulling the cart away and then how he removed his gloves, throwing them away and inside a little basket in the corner.

"I'll get you something to wear," he said and walked out of the room.

When the sound of his footsteps faded away she dared to seat with her legs hanging on the side.

There was a tube inserted in one of the outlets grafted to her skin...she followed it with her sight and saw it was connected to a computer where her vitals signs were diagramed. 

Shiva frowned, looking around.

Indeed, she was in a submarine-like quarter with metallic walls...the ceiling was covered with pipes and cables...some of them were connected to the devices in the room...

There were monitors and cables connecting them all around the bed she was sitting on...some of them were blank and others displayed incoherent green data that scrolled down with no apparent order.

"Where the hell am I?"

She continue pacing her sight around the room and found a rusty plaque on the wall to her right the which informed to everyone who wanted to know, that they were in the infirmary of the US Special Forces Hovercraft Mordecai built in 2066.

Trying to remain calm she sighed.

The increasing sound of footsteps was the prelude to Freud opening the door carrying some clothes... an old and ragged but still usable shirt, a pair of black pants and a pair of boots. 

"Here..." he said handing her the clothes " hope this is your size...it is all we got."

She examined her new uniform with disgust. 

"I'd suggest you to use it...sorry for the lack of underwear but..." he smiled, "Our budget is limited."

"Very droll" she shot back.

Freud grinned, "Want me to turn around?" he asked, and couldn't help to laugh with a very soothing tone.

"I guess you've seen enough to care for modesty" Shiva said, feeling strangely comfortable with that man "Now...would you?..." and she gestured toward the tube connected to her forearm.

"Absolutely" the man said and promptly removed the tube with a soft snap.

"That feels horrible!" 

Freud chuckled.

But Shiva's didn't care for friendship given the situation...and maybe they could be the best friends yes, the kind of friend who takes hands and drink milk shakes looking at a romantic movie...yes, they could...but maybe later, when the proper explanations were given to her...for the moment...Freud was her captor.

Freud got himself busy with some monitors below the plaque she saw before. 

Shiva started to get dressed thanking God the boots were her size.

The shirt was good, old, oily and stinking but good enough to give her some warmth...and so were the pants.

Once she was completely dressed her mouth curled in disgust...she was like a bad copy of a character from the Alien 3 movie ...

Freud continued busy.

It was her opportunity.

Now!

By the time Freud reacted she was running out the room.

"Hey!" the man called.

__

Damn muscular reconstruction, he thought, running after her in hot pursuit..._it really works_!

Shiva chose the corridor to her left and ran through it not really knowing where she was heading ...if she was in an Hovercraft then she wouldn't get anywhere unless she found the exit.

Shiva got to an intersection and turned right, the sound of her footsteps echoed in the corridor along Freud's...he was getting closer and why not? He knew that ship and she didn't

But that wouldn't be a problem for her.

She found a stairs and got down to the lower level...how big was the ship?

Who knew?

Freud jumped down and almost got her but she was escaped into a small room locking the door. 

There was another door on the other side but her attention was now caught by the weapons displayed in the walls ..rifles of some kind...strange Sci fi version of them but still...rifles...also, there was handguns ...those were more familiar...so she grabbed two of them and saw with relief they were loaded...good.

Shiva darted to the other door hearing Freud calling some other person ....Jung.

__

"Call the others!" Freud was saying when she locked the door and ran ahead ...until she reached a stairs that she promptly climbed up.

On the top she found what appeared to be the bridge.

Two empty chairs were there; in front of monitors and dials that blinked constantly ...it was like the cockpit of a plane with instruments all over the place.

Shiva was not paying attention to that.

It was the landscape beyond the view window the one that had her hypnotized.

Shiva got into the cockpit and looked out, her mouth agape.

The Mordecai was resting on a cave near a vertical shaft where water could be seen cascading down...all the place irradiated a strange luminosity, little she knew that the image was enhanced by night-vision devices...and she would probably be deaf to any explanation given in that moment...the scene in front of her eyes was so unbelievable her brain was still not capable of picturing it completely.

It was like being on a nightmare.

The water passed near the cabin of the ship on its way down the cave.

Shiva got closer to the window and placed her hands over it...it felt cold.

"It is real," said a voice behind her.

Shiva swirled, the guns ready to fire.

Jeremy was there.

"Where are we?" she asked, her voice shaking ...her heart pounding hard "Where the hell are we?" she demanded, aiming at Jeremy who was sitting in one of the chairs, Abraham's chair 

"We are two miles underground and three hundred seventy four miles away from Seattle if that where you want to go," he explained, looking out. 

Shiva pressed the canon against his temple.

"Tell me...where are we?" her voice was desperate 

"I told you... this is my ship...the Mordecai " he explained " now, give me the gun...Shiva..." he tried to take it but she stepped back until she hit the window 

"This is not real" she shook her head while her ears filled with a strange beep she knew was the first step to faint.

"It is...sadly...but it is..." 

"Give me the gun and I'll explain it " he offered and reached for the gun. 

"What have you done to me?"

"I fulfilled my promise," Jeremy folded his arms, apparently ignoring the fact that she was so nervous she could fire anytime "I gave you tangible proof of the existence of the Matrix."

"Is this...the Matrix?" she managed to ask 

"As I said before...this is what we call the Real World." he sighed. "Even when you think you live in 2003 the real year is around the 2200 and this, what you see, is what is left of the world you know" he pointed out, to the raging water passing outside " we are in the sewer system of one of the large Megalopolis once existed not far from the Power Plant where we disconnected you."

Shiva shook her head. "I..."

"...Can't believe it?" he chuckled " none of us could the first day here...as you see...we experienced the same you're living now..." he showed her his arms, revealing the outlets. "I have no reason to lie to you," he folded his arms again and closed his eyes. "You'll have to understand you're the new member of this crew and will have to learn how to survive here."

Shiva put her guns down.

"What if I don't want to?"

"There is no way back" he stated, his eyes still closed "And if there was...and you were connected again to the Matrix it will mean your death ...Smith would never allow you to live."

"Smith is real?"

"More than you think" Jeremy sighed, opening his eyes, "Now...want me to show you my ship?"

Shiva didn't know what to say.

"Come," he rose, stretching his arms " and next time be sure to arm the guns first."

She followed him back inside the ship.

On the other side of the stairs, Freud was waiting.

"You cheated me," he said, sounding hurt. 

"Sorry big guy " Shiva offered as apology, her mind was still busy trying to deal with all that...

Jeremy led her through the corridors pointing at doors and saying what was behind them, explaining how the ship used to be a Military Special Forces vehicle and how it was rebuilt by people of Zion, ...whatever that was...

She was not listening with full attention...she was just following him like a robot.

They climbed up a stairs. 

"This is the main core of the ship," Jeremy said.

In the center of a room bigger than the infirmary she saw a swamp of bizarre electronic equipment. Vines of coaxial hang and snake to and from huge monolithic battery slabs, a black portable satellite dish and banks of little systems and computer monitors

At the center of that web, there are six exoskeleton chairs made of some sort of poly-alloy frame and suspension harness.

Near the circle of chairs was what appeared to be the control console with two chairs, one of them occupied by a fragile looking woman she recognized as the one she saw first. She was looking a monitor with real interest even when the only thing visible was the same incoherent code she saw in the infirmary. 

Somebody brush passed her 

"You remember Joyce," Jeremy said.

Joyce looked at her for a second and then left the room.

"This is Jung," Jeremy said, patting her back "and this man," he pointed at a man who was looking at her while fixed some cables to a wall "is Abraham, our pilot."

Shiva kept silent 

"So, want to know more about the Matrix?"

She nodded

"Freud?"

The big man put a hand on her shoulder. "This way, miss, I'll show you your table..."

He led her to a chair and helped her seat.

Shiva allowed him to secure her arms and legs...Jeremy was sitting on the chair next to hers.

"It is better if you close your eyes " Freud stated

She obeyed but Freud was a liar...when he led the coaxial cable inside the back of her neck it felt horrible...like being splashed with cold water and then...when the cable locked with a loud snap she felt.... normal.... like the one she remembered being.

Gillian McPherson opened her eyes.

And saw the Matrix.


	6. The reverend

****

Vick says: chapter 6 of the FIREWALLS saga, keep reading!...the past of Jeremy in the Matrix and the beginning of rediscovering Shiva...more action this time...and please, to all those religious people...please don't consider this chapter an attack...I am a believer...I really am...but I thought this is an interesting twist in this universe and all the references about religion are just to improve the symbolism of the characters. Also, I AM NOT , I repeat... I AM NOT talking about any religion in particular...pay close attention and you'll see how deep this chapter is...

****

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

****

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding saga.

THE MATRIX:

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

Book 1: The Agent and the Hacker.

Chapter 6

The reverend 

__

Jehovah had said, " I will manage you, yes, for good, I will intercede for you, yes, In times of calamity and in the time of anguish, against the enemy

Jeremiah 15:11

Matthew Gillespie was a man of faith.

He embraced the promises of Heaven and paradise and became a brave soldier of the Lord who would spread the good news all over the Earth...the kingdom is coming, he often said to whoever wanted to hear him...

He was a beloved preacher and his flock really thought he'd get a closer relationship with God and would be, with no doubt, a man that would survive the Armageddon easily ...he was responsible for saving so much lives for God...snatching them from the claws of the iniquitous...

Satan was everywhere...Satan wanted to destroy us all...Satan presented us an easy world of drugs...liquor... noisy parties...he wanted to separate us from God....but that was the world of the End of Times...the world that preceded the Armageddon, when God would 'make all things new' and would give the men and women who acted with faith and fulfilled his requirements a paradise to live for a thousand years.

There would be no more death.

No more suffering

No more evil

Matthew believed in all that and his entire world was ruled by his faith.

In his work...in his house......at the Mall...everywhere...he testified his faith and tried to save more lives...talking people about God.

"Reverend ?" a woman called.

Matthew stopped his reading 

"Hello Mrs. Woodson" he smiled " what can I do for you?"

"I was thinking that you may want to come have dinner with us tonight " she said, smiling. " Cliff will prepare Roast Beef"

Matthew nodded "I'd love to, Mrs. Woodson but first I have to prepare a speech for another congregation "

"Am I interrupting?" she asked, worried " I can go clean now if you..."

"No, don't worry " he said , patting the bible he was reading " I was just trying to find a few more verses to finish it...but it can wait...I always have time for my brothers and sisters"

"thank you, reverend " the woman smiled with joy " I don't know what we would do without you"

"you'd have to continue serving the Lord, remember there are a lot of blessing for those who take care of his relationship with HIM"

Mrs. Woodson nodded and squeezed his hand with affection. "we'll be waiting for you at 9, reverend"

"I'll be there" he said resuming his reading.

He was reading the book of the prophet Jeremiah ..how many times he had read the Bible?...too many, he mused...but I always find it interesting...there had to be a reason for that, he continued thinking ...maybe God is making me strong for the times to come...

__

Keep getting close to me and I will protect you. 

He paused to clean his glasses and looked around.

Mrs. Woodson was using a mop to clean the entrance of the Kingdom Hall, and, once that little job was finished he would be the only one there ....he liked to be there....it was a place with all the quiet and silence he needed to concentrate.

Matthew was thinking in prepare some coffee in the little kitchen in the back of the building when he heard a window crashing and a phone ringing...

The phone was in the kitchen.

He heard more noises.

Matthew leaped to his feet and, Bible in hand, went to the kitchen, slowly, trying to make no noise.

In a world ruled by Satan he would expect everything.

"help me, God " he prayed " give me strength to face evil in whatever shape it takes"

Matthew opened the door and saw a young woman inching toward the phone...she was leaving a trail of blood as she moved, crawling on the floor... her white leather outfit was stained in red....her face was a mask of pain and one of her arms was broken...how she got there in that state was a mystery...

She let go a groan...and collapsed on the floor.

Matthew, witness of that scene of pain, thought she was dead but she moved, surprising him.

The phone continued ringing.

Maybe that was what made her move...

She wanted to pick up the phone.

"Miss?" he decided to act 

The woman looked at him, at the verge of shock.

"let me help you" he kneeled down next to her "what happened to you?"

She tried to talk but blood drowned her words.

She coughed, Matthew helped her seat, holding her back 

"I will call 911 now" he tried to reach the ringing phone.

"No..." she babbled but it was too late...Matthew picked up the call and then hung up again...the woman's eyes filled with tears as he picked up the phone and dialed.

"yes?...I am reverend Matthew Gillespie there is a wounded woman here...I need you to send an ambulance!" 

"what is your address?" the voice on the other side of the line

"quickly...she is dying...send the ambulance to the 212 of Regina Hilburn St"

"on their way, sir" the 911 woman said and hung up

Matthew hung up , the woman was trying to say something.

"hang in there..." Matthew didn't know first aids and for the first time in his life he wished to 

"the cell phone...." the woman cried , his hands trying to find something in her pockets....but her coordination was getting worst and she didn't succeed...Matthew got the idea and searched for it. "pick up the cell phone, reverend"

"but..." 

The phone began buzzing "please " she begged " it is the only..." cough " the only way you can survive now that you've seen me...."

"it doesn't matter what you've done....I will help you "

"you don't understand..." she babbled ...her voice getting weak " please, reverend...they can be here any minute"

The phone insisted.

"who?...the ones who did you this?" 

"pick...the call...father..." she commanded so vehemently Matthew had to obey 

"she will die..." the voice on the phone said " she will die if you don't help her in the only way you can "

"what can I do?"

The other phone, the one on the table, rang.

"put her on the phone...quickly..."

Matthew reached for the phone , the cellular still held in his ear, and was about to do as they said when he heard the scream of Mrs. Woodson.

He looked at the door.

Mrs. Woodson screamed again and this time, the vision of what was happening filled Matthew's heart with terror.

As Incredible as it may seem, the woman began to transform, avoiding all logic...the woman vanished and became a man in gray suit wearing sunglasses.

"Jesuscrist " Matthew said.

"PUT HER ON!" the voice on the other side of the line commanded.

Matthew did it.

But she was dead...killed by a clean shot in the forehead by the man in gray suit...Matthew witnessed that display of cruelty with his mouth open...in the eyes of the woman, the last thing he saw was sadness...like if her last thought was 'I don't want to die like this..."

Time seemed to move slowly as he put the body on the floor

At first...he didn't know what to do...

But he still had weapons against demons...because what he just saw was the proof of Satan's existence...and he had the Lord with him...

The man in gray suit aimed 

No!

"Go away in the name of Jesuscrist!" Matthew rose...the phone receiver hit the ground with a loud thump "this is the house of God and you can do nothing against his power!...I...in the name of the Lord , command you to leave !"

"do you really think there is a God?" Agent Smith asked, smiling "I will tell you something very important...keep this in mind...for all intents and purposes I am God."

He held his breath... 

__

The window! He never realized he still had the cellular phone until he heard the voice _now!_

He jumped out the window, falling heavily on the sidewalk but managed to keep the phone with him...that seemed to be the only way to survive...

The breath was knocked out of him but he got up, he felt the bullets zipping as they missed for inches ...the people on the street looked at him in surprise...why was the reverend being chased by a man with a gun?...but there was no time to answers and all of them moved aside to avoid getting killed.

__

"Turn left next intersection...there will be a car waiting for you....a navy blue Lincoln without license plates " the voice on the phone said 

"who are you?"

"no time for that now" 

A bullet hit a man with a shopping bag to his right...people started to scream...Matthew turned left and saw the car...the back door was open...he used his last shred of energy to dive into the car in time to miss the Agent who simply stopped in short, apparently indifferent 

One more saved from the claws of the iniquitous.

***

Inside the car he saw three persons. One, the woman who was driving the car at full speed and the other two...a man and a girl who just left her teens , all of them had grave faces and wore similar black outfits...

He just stood there for more than 10 minutes...gasping for air...his suit stained with blood...the cell phone firmly clenched in his hands.

"No need for that now..." the girl said. " you're safe with us"

"who are you?...drug dealers?....the mob?..."

"You only wish we were...would that be easier for you, reverend?"

"I...." he babbled 

"My name is Fury " the man said and practically ripped the phone out of his hands "hello?"

He listened for a couple of minutes and then hung up

The driver slowed down, looking more calm.

"we lost him" she informed. 

"Matthew, you were not supposed to be part of this...we thought the building was empty..." Fury said and it sounded like an apology " the phone in your church was the last chance for our friend...unfortunately...she didn't make it "

Matthew's voice was low and desperate 

"what kind of demon is that man?...why he killed her like that?"...what happened to Mrs. Woodson?"

The girl answered "for you to understand it...Smith is Satan in person"

"Mrs. Woodson is dead..." Fury stated "and so will you which is why I will make you choose..."

"Choose what?" he asked, rising his voice " I will not participate with you...I want to get down....I will go to the nearest precinct and will tell them about you!"

The driver looked at him using the rear view mirror.

"Maya" Fury called 

She pulled the car to the curb and parked 

"you are free to go " the girl said 

Matthew promptly opened the door to get down.

"you won't reach the next corner..." the girl continued "Smith is everywhere"

"Jung is right..." Fury added " Agents are everywhere..."

The speed with the which he found himself in that situation overwhelmed him, suddenly he didn't know who was telling the truth or what was real...he saw Mrs. Woodson transforming in Smith ...he also had to admit they helped him...he'd be death by now...like the woman he tried to help.

"We didn't want to get you involved..." Jung repeated , her voice calm. " but now we can't let you go without telling the truth..."

"truth?...what truth?" Matthew's heart was pounding so hard he thought it would jump off his chest." I don't know other truth than the one that is in the Bible"

They exchanged knowing glances...Fury sighed...the girl called Jung looked at him 

"We know...reverend..." she stated " but if you believe in the omnipresence of God then you'll have to face the truth that it was him the one who sent you our way "

"Lies!"

"We all wish it would be lies, reverend but they are not" Jung continued " you can go if you want but you won't last much...the Agents will look for you...they will want to know what we told you and will use you to try to find us..."

"I have nothing to say!" Matthew said, bitterly " I am not a man of violence...and I have nothing to hide"

"that is true " Jung said, sadly " but the truth won't save you this time...you have to trust me, Reverend... otherwise...you'll discover in the worst way how badly this world is in the hands of Satan"

"let me go...please...." he begged

"give yourself the chance to live, reverend " Jung continued "you don't have to die like our friend....now, choose...do you want to keep living in this world ruled by Satan or would you like to have the chance to fight back in the real war against evil?"

He looked at the trio...their worry about him seemed real and their words sincere...after all.. he saw Smith killing the wounded woman and shooting at him even when the street was crowded...this persons could've killed him or could've let him there but they saved him...

"promise you won't hurt me..."

"we do..." Jung said, firmly , taking his hands and pulling him inside the car again. " we will only show you the real world..."

"a paradise?"

"I am afraid not..."

The car accelerated 

Nobody knew what happened to Reverend Matthew Gillespie...his beloved flock cried his death and prayed for him wishing to see the day he'd be resurrected like the others who are sleeping in hope, waiting for the fulfillment of god's promises.

Jeremy , The future Captain of the Mordecai was born.

Shiva unplugged meets the Matrix 

He'd always remember that day...a day far away in his past ...and she'd always remember the woman he couldn't save because he didn't know how..._Soul_...that was her name... 

The ship he was carried to, the _Solomon _was destroyed in battle two years later....only he and Jung could make it...barely...hiding from Sentinels until the rescue ships arrived...when they were brought back to Zion they were put in different crews but, when the Mordecai was rebuilt and he was named Captain she looked for the girl who saved him...Jung.

"this is the construct...."

Shiva found herself in an empty blank white space next to Jeremy.

"This is our loading program...if we need something then we just load it here...weapons...vehicles...clothes....training programs...everything..."

"It is incredible...is this a computer program?"

"yes.." Jeremy pointed to her right " please, have a seat"

She could've swear there was no chairs there a moment ago. But she sat.

Shiva was so shocked she was starting to think nothing could surprise her anymore.

"I will tell you the story of how the world ended like this and how we became slaves of the machines...it is a must-to-be-told story we have all heard at a moment...it will be hard to believe but it is completely true and you've seen the proof...."

Shiva listened with full attention, willing not to miss a single detail...the story was just as he said...unbelievable but she had no choice but believe it...she heard how the humans created Artificial Intelligence and how machines conquered the world slaving the humans to produce energy now that the sky was a mass of darkness...she heard how they harvested humans and how they fed them with a virtual reality called The Matrix...a computer world of feelings and fake lives in the form of electric signals fed directly to the brain.

She felt sad.

But sadness was a feeling that passed quickly eclipsed by a raising anger...the thorn of betrayal digging deep in her soul...

"show me more" she said.

"load the training program, Jung " he said in his cell phone.

In a wink, Shiva was at his side in a crowded street near a Church where the wedding bells were heard...a black long limousine was parked at the gate, waiting for the newly weds.

Shiva looked around , clearly surprised.

"This is what I call 'being beamed up' " she said, feeling like waking up from a nightmare, she felt the rays of sun, the wind blowing in her face, she felt the touch of the long coat she was wearing...she even had her long black hair tied in a pony tail...everything was normal.

He hated leather but she found that outfit was very comfortable.

"this is the Matrix" Jeremy said opening his arms . 

She looked around , the people walking, the buildings...the birds...the sky...everything was just like she remembered it...it was familiar.

"hey...this is my neighborhood"

"As a matter of fact it is..." Jeremy said, amused " Jung has a strange sense of humor..."

Shiva smiled and pointed left " that's Mr. Yang's grocery store" she said " and that's Julia's Boutique..."

Jeremy kept silent and followed her to the building down the street.

Shiva said hello to some persons as they walked that way...a man jogging with his dog...an elder lady who was locking the door to her house...a young girl who was buying some Fashion magazines in the newspaper stand in the corner and finally, to the security guard in the building's door.

"hey Martin" she said.

"hey Gillian " the man replied, hobbling to meet her " long time not see...where were you?"

"Oh, you know, business..." she stated, warmly , patting the old man in the back 

"I have been feeding your cat " Martin informed "little Moxie misses you"

"oh, that reminds me...I missed my keys...can I borrow yours?"

"Absolutely...I'll meet you at the elevator to go up with you "

Shiva smiled and continued walking, Jeremy at her heels.

They rang for the elevator and waited

"I love that old sod, " Shiva said, " he is a sweet"

Jeremy continued in silence.

"why you brought me here?" she asked " you showed me this is not real but you brought me to my apartment?"

"I believe you cannot measure the reaches of the Matrix unless you experience them....I know I did"

"and how exactly are you going to make me '_experience'_ that?"

Martin's voice came from the back.

" Gillian..."

She swirled with a smile in her face but the cold metal of the gun in her forehead whipped it immediately....she held her breath when she saw who was there, about to kill her.

"Smith..." she let go in a whisper.

"Stop"

Smith froze...as did the rest of the world...outside, beyond the entrance, the wold seemed to enter in a 'pause mode', cars were frozen even when it was obvious they were running...people were static...everything...including the animals were...it was like looking a photo.

"I see you remember him " Jeremy sighed " these are the Matrix's security programs we know as Agents...Sentient Software Units linked to the Matrix main core....they are everywhere...they can do anything..."

"how...?"

"Agents can use any person in this world... " pause " we have a saying ...'if you're not one of us...then you're one of them'...you cannot trust anyone inside the Matrix...they probably wouldn't cause you any harm...like Martin...but they would eventually...Agents would use them to find you destroying the person in the process..."

"Is Martin...?"

"...Dead?" Jeremy shook his head " this is just a program Jung wrote...don't worry about him...now...Shiva...do you understand how far the Matrix reach?"

Shiva felt sad ..all of her life, her memories...her friends and family was a lie...all of what she believed in was just an illusion to keep her mind busy while her body produced energy for the machines...

"I do..." she said, bitterly " now...if they can do all that shit you mention what is the case if we are only humans and not... " she swayed her fingers in front of Jeremy's face " Superman"

Jeremy grinned " we are not, you're right but we have certain advantage over the rest of people..." he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed " the jump program, please"

Shiva felt dizzy when the view changed...she felt being transported, against all natural laws of motion and space...to the rooftop of a building...she didn't know how many stories it had but it was tall....across the street, there was another similar in height.

She tried to remain calm but...

__

Her pulse is increasing...

Oh, joy, don't tell me she is afraid of heights...

"do you like the view?" Jeremy asked.

"I..."

"You said we are not Superman " he shrugged his shoulders " that is right but we have the knowledge of the truth...we know this is a computer program " the wind howled whipping Jeremy's long coat to the side "Natural forces like gravity are emulated by the Matrix , cold, heat....everything that is needed to make us believe this is real but....all of those rules can be broken ...if you embrace the truth you'll be free.."

Jeremy spun , running hard at the edge of the rooftop and jumped. He sailed through the air, his coat billowing out behind him like a cape.

He landed on the roof of the building across the street ..at impossible fifty feet away.

"Holy Shit!" she said...if he wanted her to do it then he was totally out of his mind...he'd never do something that crazy...truth or no truth...Matrix or no Matrix...

__

what is she waiting for?

She chickened out

Jeremy jumped back to her side, landing hard, one knee on the floor, breaking the tiles.

"I will need you to try to do it"

"In your wildest dreams " Shiva stepped back "there is no way in hell I am going to jump off this building...I...I...saw you doing it but I won't!"

"you'll have to learn to do it...it is a necessary skill for all of us..." Jeremy tried to persuade her "your life can depend on it"

"I said no!"

Jeremy rolled his eyes and sighed in contained exasperation. "Jung, take us out...it is enough for one day"

Shiva opened her eyes and saw Freud looking at her with a big smile.

"feeling afraid of heights, eh, cutie?" 

"very funny, Freud " she barked and she would probably said something more but the feeling of being disconnected kept her shut...it was a terrible sensation... 

Abraham was chuckling next to a very calm and neutral Jung who was still typing in a keyboard. 

Joyce was nowhere in sight 

Jeremy clapped " well, Shiva...what do you say?"

"Why me?" she asked becoming very serious

"I'll explain it later, why don't we go have something to eat now, I think you're hungry"

The mention of food was enough to make her feel better...her stomach reminded her she didn't eat since....since...well, since the day before she was taken to the Mordecai...in fact, the last thing she ate was a delicious meatloaf sandwich.

"Yes..." she let Freud help her up " show me the way..."

Freud pointed to her left and she walked that way being followed by the others in exception of Jung who continued her job.

"do you have any chicken?" she asked in hope but the laughter of the others told her she was not lucky and that the nearest Kentucky Fried Chicken was, truly, inside her head...


	7. Mordecai's Mission

****

Vick says: chapter 7 now...the mission and meet Sonic through Joyce's past...hope you people are enjoying this long trip among the souls of a crew of heroes.

****

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

****

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding saga.

The Matrix

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

The Agent and the Hacker.

Chapter 7

Shiva upgraded

Jeremy stopped and opened a door.

"This was Sonic's quarter..." he sighed. "Now it is yours."

Shiva didn't move.

"I don't think I can..."

"It is this or the engine room but Freud don't accept visitors when he is servicing the engines." Jeremy walked into the room. "Come."

She reluctantly followed.

It was a small room with no windows, she wouldn't miss them knowing there was nothing to be seen, a small uncomfortable-looking bed without blankets was there...the room had only one metallic chair and a little collapsible table embedded in the wall across the bed.

Beneath the bed she saw a two drawer set. She chuckled at the irony...she had nothing...her personal belongings were just imaginary.

Jeremy sat in the chair.

"Joyce removed Sonic's things," he stated. 

"Oh," she replied, sitting at the edge of the bed. It was as uncomfortable as he thought. 

"Poor girl," he continued, "They were in love and even when they tried to be together as much as they could tragedy found them...it is a sad story...but we have to live our life as good as we can."

"Keep it short " Shiva said, she wasn't feeling in the mood to talk about him, not when she knew she was partly responsible for his death.

"Deal." Jeremy nodded. "I will tell you about his mission."

"Please..."

He rubbed his eyes.

"Zion is the last human city on Earth...it is hidden underground near the Earth's core where there is still warmth...all of those who had been freed live there...it is a city of brave people who want to survive...we are their army... an army of fifty ships against a million Sentinels...Zion's mainframe is protected by a strong security interfase ...we...the Captains of these ships, know the codes for Zion's mainframe...and Smith want them...if he gets access he will be able to destroy our security systems and find the way in..." Jeremy breathed deeply "a month ago...a tragedy occurred...the Captain of one of our ships was caught and he gave Smith the codes...the crew of his ship pulled the plug but it was too late..."

"Was Zion destroyed?"

Jeremy shook his head.

"Fortunately not," he admitted. "Sonic was able to kick them out of our systems feeding them with a fake location but they copied some files from our server...at first, we didn't know how much damage they inflicted...we concentrated on improving our security systems and rebuilt our networks..."

"What happened then?"

"Our ships have been systematically hunted down, one by one...they copied the password for the hovercrafts GPS ...when one Sentinel is near a ship all they do is to access it to confirm its existence...we used to simply sit there when we found one, all systems shut down, making no noise until they were gone...now...thats simply ineffective. If we do that we turn into sitting ducks...we have to fight which will attract more Sentinels...."

"How many ships are left?" 

"Enough ships," was the answer. "But we live in these ships, these are our homes and our duty is to be here in the sewer systems ...we cannot simply go hide in Zion..."

She felt the imminent danger hanging over her head. "We could be spotted anytime."

Jeremy nodded.

"Sonic gave us some time...remember that day at your office when he deleted the Employee Data Base?" She nodded. "His last job was to infect the Sentinel network with a virus that would make The Mordecai invisible for some days and until Matrix's anti virus programs kick in," he explained. "That will allow us to upload our firewall but it will mean the other ships will serve as decoys..."

"Sonic made it? The firewall?"

"He was a very skilled hacker, Shiva, but he also knew he had limitations... so he searched for a partner...a person who would help him develop the Firewall system and upload it..."

She opened her eyes wide. "Me?"

"You. He had to approach you and tell you about the Matrix...he wasn't supposed to play games with you or die in the process but he lacked modesty...and he challenged you..."

Shiva sighed, "How can I help?"

"Tomorrow, Jung will update you and you'll continue with Sonic's work"

"Where does that Firewall have to be uploaded?" 

"In the building you worked for Smith," Jeremy informed. "He wanted to have you there because he knew you were the only one who would capture Sonic...even better if he tried to reach you..."

"Smith knows about the Firewall?"

"We don't think so" Jeremy admitted " but we know he wanted him because he had access to Zion's mainframe...a thing you'll do too...so...keep this in mind...if you're caught...say a little prayer and prepare to die because we won't allow them to have the codes...it is something we have to do..."

Shiva pondered the matter for a couple of seconds. 

She found that she had no choice.

"I'll do it..." 

"Excellent " Jeremy said. "It will be risky but if we succeed, Zion will be safe and so our ships...we need more warriors for this war."

"Ok...quit the speech" Shiva interjected, raising her hand. "I will do it because it is the only thing to do. I can't and I will not go back to my life...so...I have to try to make this better..."

"That's the spirit"

"Don't misunderstand my reasons..." Shiva shot, angrily. 

"Now, take a rest," Jeremy said, rising and walking to the door.

"Alright." 

"One more thing..." Jeremy stopped at the door, facing away "I think it would be better if you don't try to talk to Joyce for a while...she is deeply hurt because of Sonic's death, and she may want to make you the one responsible..."

With his words still hanging in the air, the Captain left.

She tried to sleep but even when she was completely exhausted she couldn't...so she spent the entire night trying to sort her feelings and thoughts and find the way to adapt herself better to her present position. She was a practical person by definition and she would do as she said...she would help those people and would develop the Firewall program, then...she would try to find a way to live as normal as possible.

The night aboard the Mordecai consisted in shutting down the lights so, when the lights went on again she understood it was time to get up.

She was putting her boots on when the door was knocked and a very serious Jung walked in.

"Ready?"

"To be honest..."

"I'll upgrade you...hope you slept because this will be tiring."

And it was...Shiva learned that day the woman with blue eyes and long black hair never lied... a valuable asset she would treasure in the future. For good or for evil.

She sheepishly sat in her chair and was connected.

"Ok...on our way..." Jung said, sitting in her chair and typing some commands with her right hand while selecting a micro disk among some others in a tray amid two monitors with her left...when she found the one she was looking for she inserted it in an I/O device next to the keyboard she was using. "On your mark..." she typed some more. "Get set..." the last sequence was entered. "Now...Go!" she finished, hitting the 'LOAD' button on a touch screen.

Shiva's body stiffened in her chair and her eyes clamped shut...the monitors where her vitals were diagramed seemed to enter to an state of hyperactivity as her heart pounded hard, her adrenaline levels increased and her brain activity sizzled.

An instant later her eyes snapped open.

She was breathing heavily.

"Thats was..." she gasped for air. "That was great!"

Jung was changing the micro disk, placing it above the I/O device.

"I learned how to fly all kinds of helicopters!" she said, mystified "I always wanted to learn to fly..."

"What you know..." Jung said, nonchalantly, "It is just the beginning"

Shiva looked at her in disbelief.

"What?"

Jung hit the LOAD button again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

At the end of the last micro disk, Shiva not only knew all kind of martial arts, Stealth assault, combat strategies, how to use any existent weapon...no... She also knew all about Zion, all of their history and chain of command, she was also a skilled hovercraft pilot and knew everything about it...

Jeremy smiled, walking into the deck "How is she doing?"

"Fine," Jung said, dryly, adding a micro disk to the pile above the supplement drive. "She has successfully learned all of the basic operations programs."

"I am Wonder Woman!" Shiva said, in some sort of trance like state. "Give me more!"

Jung hit the LOAD button.

Computer's Romance: Joyce's Story.

Joyce stopped the Mordecai and consulted the navigational charts in a little holographic screen. According to it, the ship was now in the convergence of two tunnels, one of them came directly from the surface and the other from a deeper level. This last one was blocked by some collapsed walls.

She didn't want to go to the surface but moved the Hovercraft inside that tunnel, knowing there was a way out a mile up, when the ship found said escape route she used it to get to an open space flooded with water, the scanners informed her the dept of the water well, it was eighty feet...enough to camouflage the ship.

The cavern was dark and the water probably was as dark as the cavern...the perfect spot to work.

Joyce hated to sink the ship in those places but it was the only way to work without interruptions.

"Diving to five-zero feet," She said when the ship landed on the water. "Engine disengage in five...four...three...two...one...now."

Joyce used a touch screen to shut the engines down.

The ship began to sink, steady...slowly and until it was at 50 feet...the water was so contaminated it was impossible to see a thing on it so they based all of their trust in the ship's scanners.

A hologram fed by the sonar built a digital representation of the cartography of the well, there was a flat space at 50 feet...Abraham placed the ship there.

He sighed, relieved.

"Want to go swim, eh, Joyce?"

"Get lost, Abraham," she said "I don't know why we do this in the fist place, this ships are old and are not supposed to be a submarine ...why if the pressure cracks the hull? Or the engines fails to takes us out of here?"

Abraham was turning the lights off. "Relax...we have done this a lot of times."

"I know," Joyce shivered, "But look around you...that water must be radioactive or worse..."

"You're acting like an old woman," Abraham said, stretching his arms "Much like my old piano teacher."

Joyce shook her head "Do you think she will do the job?"

Abraham shrugged his shoulders

"I don't know," he admitted. " Sonic believed in her."

Joyce sighed.

"Do you remember when I first got here, Abraham?" 

Abraham nodded. "I do...you looked so fragile and confused I thought you wouldn't make it the first week."

"Thanks for your honesty, Abraham."

"My pleasure," the man said, leaping to his feet. "Want something to drink?" he offered "I heard Freud has been cooking some more of his so called '_Beer'_."

"Do you remember that time we gave some to that friend of yours called _Morpheus_?"

"Yeah...the poor guy was sick for two days"

"Then forget it" she waved at him "I will stay here doing my watch."

He nodded and left.

Joyce sighed, her eyes focused in the water.

She visited her past.

***

"How do you feel?"

She couldn't keep her eyes open, they hurt too much, but she wanted to see who was talking to her.

The source of the voice moved around her...it was friendly and warm...

"I'm cold." she managed to say and her voice startled her because it was so different to what she remembered...it was low and grave "so cold..."

"That's because you're naked," the voice explained. "But don't worry, I will fix that."

Confused, she tried to sit but her body didn't respond so she stayed there...her eyes closed...feeling the lacerating cold of that place...her mind was a turmoil of feelings and memories...

The last thing she remembered was the University's Gym ... three persons...Jeremy, Jung and Abraham...and the way out from the Matrix.

After the red pill everything was foggy and the first thing she remembered about it was the voice asking how she felt.

Well, she felt like hell.

"You're going to sleep now, Joyce," the voice said as the rough blanket landed over her "You'll feel better once we reconstruct your muscles. for now... there is nothing you can do."

She shivered.

"I'm scared."

"I will be here with you all the time," the voice promised. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

The girl once named Catherine Simmons slept.

When she woke up she felt better...not enough to get up...but better...her eyes didn't hurt anymore and her throat felt clean.

She saw the back of a man, next to her...he was bald and had a strange plug of some kind in the back of his neck...and he was removing needles from her right leg, one by one, carefully placing them in something out of her sight that clinked when the needle was left there.

Joyce moved her hand and touched the man. He, startled, left what he was doing and swirled.

She saw an intelligent looking man with brown eyes...his face was the one of a person who you'd like to talk with, the one who wouldn't lack stories or jokes...

"Ah...had a nice sleep?" he asked and she recognized the voice. A nice addition to the rest of him.

"Who are you?" was the answer.

"I am your guardian angel but please call me Sonic."

"What are you doing to me?" She asked. 

"Oh...this?" he showed her a needle "This is a little trinket we use to help your muscles to feel strong again."

"Why?"

"You've never used them before." he explained, patiently and spun around to continue "Let me finish with this and I will show you around."

"Were are we?"

Sonic continued removing the needles while explaining her where she was and what the ship's mission was ...she listened with full attention, asking as many questions she needed to fulfill her curiosity...one moment she was Catherine Simmons, Computer Research assistant of the University of Connecticut and the next she was on board a hovercraft...with outlets all over her body and almost two hundred years in the future in the company of man called Sonic.

True to his word, the man showed her the ship, not without giving her clothes first, of course.

She followed him like a zombie, not believing the amazing pieces of technology she saw...monitors, computers, devices so strange their functions were a mystery and the persons there...all of them with the same outlets she had.

She recognized the others and was scared by a tall man with angry face. Freud.

Sonic smiled and assured that man was the best friend there was. 

"Look at me, " he said, solemnly, after Jeremy showed her the world as it was. "I was afraid too...we all did." He smiled and took her hand in his. "I assure you this is not easy but you have to be strong...your life depends on it."

"I won't make it."

"You will, " he assured so vehemently she almost believed him "And I will help you do it...I will be your protector and you'll make your best to learn, ok? I need a partner."

She got lost in his eyes and found herself unable to say no as long as he was there with her.

In the weeks to come, that man was with her all the time, helping her, guiding her, making her stronger, training her and making her be another crew member... wining her heart in the process.

A love story among the ruins of a civilization. 

"it seems you have now a protégé," Freud said once.

Sonic nodded and continued welding a piece of metal frame to repair a hole in one of the metal floors "Yeah..."

"Why?"

Sonic stopped his work " I think she was not ready for this... have you seen her Bio? The girl had a good promising life and Jeremy woke her up...she deserved to be happy even if she was living a lie."

Freud folded his arms. 

"She was about to finish at her University, she had a loving mother and father, a bunch of good friends and a life without problems...do you think she deserves this?" He opened his arms wide "A metal sardine tin where all she is learning will put her life in danger? I don't think so. Ever since I saw her I knew she didn't deserve this life...if I could...I would keep her out of all this shit...she is so warm, funny--not like us--bitter people who fight for their lives with mechanical attitude."

"She made her choice."

Sonic spit. " Bullshit."

Freud sighed, "That is why you keep helping her to adapt here?" the man smiled "Or is there another reason?"

Sonic shifted uncomfortably, "I don't know what you're implying."

"You do..." Freud arched an eyebrow "We all had a life but you re so much worry about her."

Sonic kneeled to resume his job.

"Listen, kid, I'll give you a piece of advice." Freud stated pulling him up " if you have something to say to her go do it now... time is precious here. And we don't know how much we have left..."

"Yeah...yeah...Tempus Fugit..." he quipped, releasing from his grip " I have nothing to say to her..." he added, walking away into the corridor. "I think I finished here..." 

"You're lost kid " Freud sighed deeply and shook his head continuing Sonic's job.

He never knew she was standing around the corner.

***

The training continued.

Freud loaded the program for that day and folded his arms.

Joyce found herself in a Japanese Dojo.

Sonic was on the other side dressed in white Chinese martial arts uniform 

"Remember The Karate Kid?" he asked, smiling. 

"I hated that movie," she replied, "But I like Jackie Chan."

Sonic's smile vanished as he assumed a fighting stance.

"You were updated with all existing martial arts," he explained. "You can use them and be faster and stronger than any person inside the Matrix...but you have to clear your mind and focus... the power of your attack won't depend on your physical strength but in how powerful you think it is..."

Joyce assumed a Kung Fu stance.

"Are you trying to tell me I can beat you?" 

"Let's see." 

Silence fell over them as they moved in a circle, measuring the other...Joyce was breathing calmly...focusing in his movements.

He attacked.

She saw a fist coming directly to her face and moved left with amazing speed, she grabbed his arm and, without problem, sent him flying to the other side of the Dojo.

Sonic landed on his feet.

"Good," he said. "More."

She prepared the attack and, with a short cry she charged against him.

He stood in his place, waiting for her.

Fist and feet struck with phenomenal speed from every angle but each and every on of them was blocked with effortless grace.

Joyce stepped back and changed her stance to a Thai Box posse.

Sonic attacked with a jump kick, she ducked to avoid it and, when he fell, a sweeping kick was waiting for him.

But he wouldn't wait to be on the floor to continue with his attack and back kicked her when still in the air.

Joyce fell to her back, the breath knocked out of her body.

Sonic wouldn't wait... she had to be ready for the real thing or she would be death....

Joyce escaped by miracle when he tried to hit her while she was on the ground.

Sonic would've continued attacking her but she managed to hit him in the stomach...he stumbled back.

Joyce leaped to her feet, teeth clenched, fists ready.

"You need to focus, Joyce," he said, angrily. "Don't think I won't hit you if I have the chance...you will have to fight harder if you want to survive."

"Shut up and fight."

"Ah, anger..." he replied. "There is nothing more wrong to fight than anger. it is useless here. It won't add to your adrenaline...it will only mean you're not focused!"

"You hit me, bastard"

"I did," he admitted with calm voice "And so will the people you'll have to fight once you're ready." 

"Won't you shut up?" she cried and charged against him once more, this time, her attack is not planned and she is thrown to the ground again, this time, landing near a table with spears, sables and other weapons.

"You have a nice technique, Joyce," Sonic said.

She rose, feeling sweaty and beaten but she still had a little business to solve with her so called guardian angel...No man would dare to hit her...never...he'd show him....

A tiny little smile cracked Sonic's face.

Sonic attacked her, something incredible to see because he hit so fast it is impossible to see his fists. Joyce blocked as many as she could and hit him one or two times but she was kicked so hard she landed three meters away.

Panting, on her hands and knees and spit out blood, speckling the white floor of the Dojo.

Sonic kneeled down next to her.

"I..." she babbled, " I thought you said there was no way this would hurt."

"I never said such thing..." he replied. "I said you'd have to focus...and think on how powerful your attack is...listen, Joyce...don't try to attack me with your muscles but your brain." His voice softened. "Use your mind to direct your attack and let your body follow...I need you to understand this...I won't be there to protect you forever and I don't want you to die...ok?" he helped her up. "Now...again."

He resumed his stance.

Joyce breathed deeply, Sonic rolled his eyes "Do you really believe it is air what you're breathing?!" he barked "We are inside a virtual reality, now, fight!"

Joyce did it.

The speed of the blows rose like a drum solo that seemed impossible to sustain, Joyce attacked but this time, it was a different kind of attack, her face was calm and her fists and legs were faster...her kicks and blows were so hard to block, Sonic was literally pushed back until he was caught by a single blow in the jaw.

He fell down. 

Joyce looked at him, proud.

"Excellent," he said, recovering and splitting some blood to the floor.

***

"Ouch..." 

Sonic smiled while cleaning the wound in Joyce's mouth.

"I thought it was a program..." she managed to say 

Sonic chuckled. " Your mind makes it real."

They were alone in the infirmary.

"I heard you talking to Freud," she said when he finished. He looked away and smiled.

"Where you eavesdropping?" he tried to make it sound like a joke but his voice betrayed him, sounding sad.

"No," she said, matter-of-factly. "It was a coincidence."

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough."

"I see." he pushed the little cart he was using away and faced her. "And?"

She was seated in the edge of the bed.

"I want to know...."

"Know what?" 

He tried to step back but she held him by the waist.

"Why are you so worried about me?"

He didn't answer.

"Sonic?" she asked, "I have the feeling that I just met you but you know a lot of things about me ...how?"

He separated.

"I was the one who chose you for this crew...I know everything about you...your life is nothing but a file I could access with a single touch in my terminal, remember? "He cocked his head toward the nearest monitor. "Listen, Joyce, you are here because of your computer skills. And I hate it, because you had a wonderful life and I feel like if I stole something from you...I've never felt this before but it is the truth...you maybe don't picture this in the way it really is but your life is gone...your dreams are gone...nothing will ever be the same and I am the one who chose destiny for you...." A pause. " So I decided to help you being stronger and prepared for the horrible things you'll face...the world...the agents...even you..."

She was speechless.

"I cannot bear the thought of you being dead because of me...you deserved a good life..."

Joyce approached him. "I do not regret being here," she stated, taking his hand.

"But..."

"You don't chose my destiny, I did."

"Joyce..."

"Will you be here with me?" she said, her voice soft, their eyes locked "Will you?"

"I will." 

"Then I will be fine." she hugged him "I need nothing from my old life if you're here..."

Sonic kissed her bald head.

"I love you, Joyce."

"I love you, Sonic." 

"Talking to someone?"

Joyce trembled when a hand fell over her shoulder.

She looked up and saw Freud.

"I was just thinking about Sonic."

Freud nodded and sat in the pilot's chair.

"Jeremy wants you in the next mission, you are the only one who know where Sonic was working...so you have to go with her to..."

"Yeah, yeah...if you want to hack the Matrix you have to do it from inside." She quoted "You know, Freud...I once told Sonic I didn't regret being here but now that he's gone I am not sure anymore...if I knew a way to get back to my life...I'd do it...just to rip this pain out of me."

Freud was a man of experience thanks to his life inside the Matrix...and what he smelled didn't like him...

He smelled a possible traitor...


	8. smith's plan

****

Vick says: Chapter 8 now, the battle song of those who fight for the freedom of Zion...join this heroes while they prepare the attack on the Matrix's Agent core ... this is the first time Shiva enters the Matrix and the beginning of the adventure...if you thought things were going to be easy then....*chuckle* you were wrong please pay attention because here you'll see the intro of one of the main characters of the second part of this saga...

Also, meet Richard Stone...a.k.a. Freud.

****

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

****

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding saga.

THE MATRIX:

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

The Agent and the Hacker.

Chapter 8

A good day to die 

Inspired in _Matrix Reloaded OST track 17 "Mona Lisa Overdrive_' by Juno Reactor and Don Davis

"you know this is not personal, don't you?" 

The voice broke the silence of the night. The moon was shiny and the forest quiet, the stars twinkled in the sky...it was the perfect night to go out on a walk to breath the scent of night blossoms and the fresh country air.

But the persons in that far and deserted area of the woods were not there for fun but for business.

The old but carefully restored Pontiac GTO painted in black had its headlights on, illuminating the place where two men, one on his knees and other standing with a cigar in his mouth, were.

"I will pay....just...just give me more time" the man on his knees begged, his voice cracking in the beginning of desperation. 

The man with the cigar shook his head. " I am sorry " 

His voice was soothing and calmed, it sounded friendly but the 9 mm in his right hand evaporated any wrong conclusion. He would use the gun without hesitation but not yet...

Stone, as the people in the '_business'_ knew him, attached a silencer to his gun...he hated the loud 'Bang' of those weapons... 

"This is a good day to die, Ian " Stone said with his tenor voice that contrasted deeply with his rude face " I just do my job"

"Stone...please..." the man begged. " I will give you whatever you want!....but don't kill me"

Stone sighed , after fifteen years in the business he was completely convinced he had heard every promise a man about to die can make...they offer everything...even things they cannot give...one time, a Drug Cartel boss he was hired to execute promised him the presidency of a small Asian country...very tempting but not enough to break his policy of dedication....Stone was a dedicated assassin and he was used to finish his work.

Like Ian Malcolm here...a man who didn't know when to stop betting on the wrong horse.

When you're a compulsive better it is like when you fall in a deep well filled with soft mud...if you're wise, you stay calm and try to get out...but, if you try to move fast you'll sink, slowly but constantly until you drown...Ian suffered the same thing...he didn't remain calm when he won the first time and continued betting...the result was that one day he was unable to pay...he drowned in his own mud of debts and ended up meeting a person like Stone.

"There is a shovel in the trunk " Stone said. " you better start digging now..."

The man sobbed like a little girl.

"Stone! Please!"

Stone sighed in anger and went to the trunk, fetched the shovel and threw it at Ian's feet...he was crying louder...

"dig now" he commanded, his voice serious " and don't make me shoot you in one leg...it is hard to dig that way..."

Ian grabbed the shovel and looked up with a fierce expression Stone knew too damn well...Ian was thinking on defending himself with the shovel...he was imagining he was some character in one of those action movies where the hero saves himself in the last minute.

But Stone knew the truth...there was no way in hell he'd survive the night...just once he was taken by surprise...where?...he didn't remember but there was snow everywhere and the cold was terrible...

That time he was supposed to kill a young man who was shaking like jello and the wife...or now ex wife of his boss...the poor kid was so stupid to think the most powerful gangster in Colorado wouldn't find out he was sleeping with his wife...not to mention the wife...who thought she wouldn't be caught when she, in a outburst of arrogance, had sex in her home in the bed she shared at night with her husband...how stupid that was?...well...the reaches of their stupidity were about to be shown as Stone dragged them down of the Dodge Durango he used to get to that snowy place up in the mountains.

They were both naked.

Stone was using a heavy and expensive coat.

The young man began to cry...but the woman was in complete control , a hard thing to do when you're naked, and, when he gave them the shovels it happened...the woman hit him in one knee ..he fell back and was about to die...the woman, Nadia, hit him hard in the stomach but she never thought how much that coat protected him.

Anyway, the breath was knocked out from him and he'd probably die if the man would've helped her...but he was sobbing uncontrollably.

The woman tried to hit him again, this time in the head but he shoot, freezing her with a clean shot in the forehead.

When she fell to the ground Stone rose, slowly...and shoot her three more times....

The bang of the detonations echoed in the mountains.

The young man had to dig two graves.

That day stone learned a very important lesson, he had to be alert all the time and read the intentions in the person's eyes, it was easy to do that, specially when they were about to die.

Ian tried to hit him.

Stone shoot him in one leg.

The man fell backwards 

"I told you not to make me shoot you..." Stone said, 

Ian dug his grave crying all the time maybe accepting his destiny...maybe so terrified to try to do some other attempt to escape...he was lost and he knew it...

At the end and when Ian was looking him up from inside his grave Stone sighed, aiming.

"I have a wife and kids..." Ian said, sadly " could you let them know how sorry I am...I never wanted to hurt them...I just...just...couldn't stop..."

"I will tell them..." 

"they won't be hurt, will they?" Ian asked in hope " tell me they won't get hurt"

"I promise they won't " Stone said and shot. 

Ian collapsed inside his grave...Stone never missed and always shot in the head...that way they wouldn't suffer long...

Stone spent the next hour covering the body and, by three a.m. he started the engine and drove back to the city....he never got there

He was used to trust no one and avoid all kind of problems...it is not wise to involve in troubles when you are an assassin...so he tried, very hard to have a peaceful life... as peaceful as possible...

Stone succeeded most of the time, for the people who knew him, Richard Stone was a the owner of a famous Bar downtown Boston...like that one from the TV show..._Cheers_...he had a regular crowd of clients and all of them would swear , a hand on the Bible, that he was not capable of killing a fly.

He wore his mask well...staying out of troubles, attending his Bar

When the people he worked for had a 'job' for him all they had to do was to send an envelope with the photo and the address of the person he had to kill, that simple... and , as soon as he memorized the information , the envelope was promptly used to lit a cigar.

Once the job was done he'd receive his fee , cash...delivered directly to him by random messengers.

Yes...he had to stay out of any problem.

Anyway though, he hated some things...and hated them badly.

He stopped in a Gas Station and, while the tank filled, he walked to the convenience store near the pumps.

With his mind set in a beer, Stone headed to the back part, to the freezers.

When he passed near the little office next to the freezers he heard a phone ringing.

Which reminded him there was no clerk behind the counter.

He selected a six pack of Ballantines and returned to the counter.

The place was empty.

The phone continued ringing loudly.

"hello?" he called, tapping on the counter with his knuckles.

All he heard in reply was the insisting Ring of the phone.

Stone put the amount of the beers on the counter and walked out carrying them in one hand.

He opened the door and heard it.

The sound of something being broken in the back part of the Gas Station.

He heard gasps and sounds of fighting.

"it is non of my business " Stone said and walked to his car, returned the nozzle to its position in the pump and put the tap on, then sat in the driver's seat and started the engine determined to run away from there as fast as he could before the cops arrived.

But there was a slight change of plans.

Stone left the engine running and got down his car.

He hated uneven fights.

A woman was tossed from the side of the Convenience's store building directly to one of the pump where she crashed loudly.

Stone expected to see a bunch of men walking out from the shadows, he was most surprised to see a single guy in gray suit marching toward the woman with evident killing purposes... 

Stone moved...

But she still had will to fight and demonstrated it when she kicked the man using a Karate kick,

The man fell heavily, the woman rose and tried to run toward the convenience store...

The man in gray suit drew his gun and shot.

The bullet hit the woman in the ankle....she tripped and fell, her hands flew to the injure ...the man leaped to his feet and approached the woman who was looking up in pain.

Stone pressed the gun against the back of the man in gray's head. 

"let's see if you can dodge this..."

He shot

The man in gray suit collapsed but as he fell to the floor...his body transformed and changed incredibly to that of a young man wearing a uniform featuring the name of the Gas Station.

"what the....?" Stone said, dumbfounded

"help me up..." the woman cried..." we have to go now...he'll come back...."

Still too shocked to understand what was happening he helped the woman up, she grabbed him for support.

"You need to get medical assistance ..." Stone said, looking around, now aware he could be seeing spotted anytime...a car could stop there...

"No..." the woman replied, looking at him with her deep blue eyes " all I need is a telephone...now!"

"Who or what was that man?" he asked, helping her to move toward the convenience store. 

"My name is Smith" 

He turned around.

"How...?" he asked

"let us say I have certain skills ..." he paused next to the dead man "I thought you only killed by contract "

Stone winked " how do you know I...?"

"Surprise, surprise " Smith said, fiercely "now, hand me the woman and I will spare you..."

"he is lying " the woman stated, clinging to Stone because he was the only way to get help. "he will kill you...of that you can be certain!"

Stone had to choice.

His policy of not trusting anyone had to be changed.

Right now

Stone lifted his gun and fired...bullet after bullet.

Smith dodged every shot , moving incredibly fast, so fast Stone couldn't believe...

He stopped firing , his mouth agape. 

Smith fixed his tie and jacket " you had your chance , Mr. Stone...now...my turn "

But the woman still had something to say . 

"Run!" she commanded and drawing her gun , shot to the gasoline pump behind Smith.

The Agent looked back and received the flames.

Stone simply hoisted the woman in his arms and ran away as fast as he could.

The Gas Station exploded and the shock wave lifted them runaway couple in the wind, sending them to the other side of the deserted road.

Stone protected the woman as much as he could but she was unconscious 

Stone wouldn't wait to see if that strange character walked out of the Gas Station so he began to run on the side of the road with her in his arms...

He had to get out of there.

The road was deserted and no cars were seeing ...good...no one would like him with what happened...

He stopped, a mile away, exhausted.

The woman groaned.

"are you ok?" he asked, gasping for air.

"yes..." she said " thank you for helping me "

"what the hell was that thing?" 

"An agent " the woman said , weakly, searching for something inside her pockets...it was a Nokia cell phone where she dialed a number and waited." Abraham....tell Jeremy we have a new crew member..."

"we need to get out of here quickly...." Stone noted, likely to himself.

The woman pressed the 'end' key.

"We will, Stone..."

Valkyries on the run

Smith was an expert in human behavior.

Not because of his program but for his own research.

Secretly, and since he began functioning, he felt curious about those creatures he was supposed to chase...this , humans...

So, he created a little data base in the which he began storing the results of his research, every human was a new possibility to learn...and a possibility to test his knowledge.

He knew that given the correct circumstances a human would betray even his friends in order to obtain something he wanted badly...that was human nature...indeed...

Exceptions ?, yes, but those were rare and were always related to errors in the system.

The count of human ships destroyed by sentinels until that moment was eleven....a good record...soon, Zion would be defenseless and they would destroy that annoyance...then...finally, peace in a perfect world of imperfect humans sleeping in power plants.

Eternally.

"Excuse me, mister " 

Agent Smith looked down slowly when he felt something tugging his jacket. He found a little red headed girl dressed in scholar uniform looking up with a smile.

He decided to ignore her.

But the girl tugged his jacket again. This time harder.

"I said...excuse me , mister..." she insisted with childish obstination.

"what do you want?" he asked, dryly 

She showed him a bottle of Coca Cola" I can't open it " she stated " could you do it for me?, please?"

Smith looked away, to the passing people, searching in their faces the look of recognition that would betray an infiltrated from Zion.

Nothing.

People continued walking, minding their own business, cursing the heat, talking by cell phone, listening to music in their walkman, carrying their children back from school.

Finally, a moment of peace for him...

"so...will you help me or not?" the voice of the little girl asked from below 

"I'd suggest you to leave now " Smith said, coldly 

"Mommy says we pay your salary " the girl stated, " if thats so, then I want you to open this for me...technically I am your boss too."

Smith found that most amusing...and ironic...the little girl was right...they were working to protect them for their selfish binary purposes ...to be fed with human's bioelectric energy and heat.

He kneeled down to be at her eye level and grabbed the bottle she was handing him.

"so...you are my boss?" he asked, twisting the cap open and giving the bottle back to the little girl 

She sipped her coke " yes"

"are you not afraid of me?" he asked, removing his sunglasses 

The girl giggled "No, you're a cop and you're here to protect me"

"I see " Smith nodded " and how do you know I am a cop?"

"I saw you on the news the other day"

"Is that why you came to me to open your drink?"

The girl nodded "Absolutely"

Smith rose, a communication was being received in his radio link....there was information about certain activity he was expecting...another proof of his knowledge of human behavior was now entering the Matrix ...great...and he was near...he'd handle that issue personally

Excellent...

He began walking but the girl stopped him taking his hand.

"Thank you" she said " hey, won't you tell me your name?"

Smith had no time for that now...every second was important...

"I am Smith, " he replied, hastily, running away.

"Go get the bad guys Smith!! " the girl giggled, waving at him.

****

The '_bad guys'_ were no others but Joyce and Shiva.

"We're in"

"we read agents heading your way " Jung said. " you better move "

"Do we have a car?" she asked 

Jung typed some commands and pressed the 'Enter' button " now you do....I gave you a fast car ...you have the keys...white Mustang Cobra, "

Joyce found the keys in one of her pockets " keep us informed, Jung"

"will do " the operator said "hurry up and get out of there"

Joyce hung up.

"let's move " she said, walking out of the storage room they were " it seems your former boss is heading this way "

"where are we?" Shiva asked, a little confused. "my, being loaded here certainly makes you feel weird..."

Joyce turned left.

"follow me " was all she said.

At the end of the corridor was a door Joyce promptly opened.

They stepped out into a parking lot and the first thing they saw was the promised car.

Joyce sat in the driver seat and started the engine.

Shiva removed her sunglasses and sat in the passenger seat.

"We are moving..." Joyce said.

"I do not think so..." 

Smith drew his gun, appearing exactly next to the driver window.

"Damn it!" 

Joyce stepped in the gas pedal and the car darted away, Smith fired, breaking the rear window of the car...bullets zipped through the parking lot but all of them missed.

Joyce turned left hastily, the rear wheels blocked by the parking brake screeched and were set free until the car was heading exactly toward the exit ramp.

She accelerated and headed that way at full speed

"My god, that was close " Shiva said, sighing in relief 

Joyce clenched her teeth " he does not give up that easily"

The car jumped out to the street.

Shiva looked out and saw a blurry image of Smith and two Agents in the sidewalk as Joyce drove down the street.

"how he found us this fast?" she asked dodging a Silverado truck that just pulled out of the curb 

"he takes his job seriously " Shiva ventured to say. " are we far from Sonic's hideout?"

"far enough " Joyce muttered 

the Silverado truck accelerated and began following them , Joyce watched it in the rear view mirror and turned right in the next street...the truck followed...it was all she needed to confirm who was at the wheel, and even more when the truck hit an old Volkswagen to take him out of the way...the small car spun around and hit a parked Lincoln...

Joyce pulled his cell phone out and dialed 

"operator" 

"Jung, Smith found us too damn quickly...any explanation for that?"

"No " said the imperturbable Jung "it is like if he knew where you were "

Joyce shot a look to Shiva... 

"I will have to abort the mission " Joyce said "it is dangerous "

"Request granted " Jung replied " but you'd have to escape from the Agents first ..."

Jeremy, arms folded, was pacing back and forth the main deck, following the persecution with real attention.

Jung was typing in her keyboard very fast, looking the monitor in front of her while talking in her microphone.

Jeremy stopped next to Joyce's body...in her face he saw nothing but calm but Shiva's face was another story...she had her eyes closed and even when she was not in danger, her hands were clenched to her seat in an exteriorization of what she was experiencing.

"take a left next corner, Joyce " Jung said, sharply 

Freud walked in the main deck, in his face Jeremy saw problems 

"We have a distress signal from the _Adventurer_, twenty miles away from here....they are being hit badly...what do we do?"

Jeremy remained in silence.

"Jeremy?"

"We stay here "

"but..." Freud argued 

"I said we stay here...." he stated, firmly "if we give out our position then our mission will be over"

"alright" Freud sighed. 

"contact the nearest ship and dispatch it that way " Jeremy commanded " let's hope they get there in time"

Freud left to comply his orders muttering curses.

In other circumstances, the Mordecai would assist immediately but this time the mission was more important than the lives of a crew and he hated that ..they all did.

"Watch out!" Shiva yelled 

The Mustang missed by miracle being hit by a trailer that appeared in the intersection, the driver, Agent Kane, controlled the heavy vehicle and joined the persecution, opening a path for Smith to follow, throwing cars out of the street, cars that Joyce had to dodge first, and that was a hard task considering they were in a packed street at noon

A red light.

She had no time.

A Nissan Sentra stopped next to an old Mercury Cougar leaving a small gap between them.

Too small.

Joyce twisted the steering wheel dramatically to the left and zeroed through the only space available ...the sidewalk....

A newspaper rack seemed to explode sending newspaper everywhere, the persons began jumping to the side as the white rocket raced on the sidewalk , anyway, a second later, the Mustang jumped to the street and turned left...a big mistake...

Shiva couldn't repress a low desperate groan when she saw they were driving in the wrong direction but Joyce wasn't impressed and darted bravely through the incoming traffic.

The Sentra and the Cougar were hit by the trailer and sent flying to the other side of the street. Shiva saw how the trailer headed their way and continued the persecution followed by the Silverado....

A way out...all they needed was a way out...yes...

"this wasn't supposed to be like this " Joyce noted, with her eyes locked with the road, knowing the minor distracting would mean their doom. " damn it...we need to get out of this street "

"oh, really?" Shiva quipped 

"Jung....I need your help " Joyce said

her cell phone rang.

"Yes... " a quick maneuver to avoid crashing " talk to me , Jung!"

"I have a hard line a mile ahead, but I need you to stick in that route until you get to the freeway exit ramp..."

a mile?...Joyce wondered....it was impossible, not driving in the wrong direction and not with agents chasing them.

"it is impossible!" she gasped

"I know. " Jung replied. " can you do that?"

But her answer had to be delayed because the trailer was getting closer and closer, the Silverado truck was out of sight.

Joyce saw the flashes of police cars approaching in the distance...it was not possible to do what Jung was asking...

"I won't make it" she said, 

"help is on the way " Jung stated " wait for the signal and accelerate all you can because things will get hot..."

click.

"hot?"

"hold on!" Joyce said pressing the gas pedal all the way down.

***

Smith smiled.

He knew the car heading his way had no chance to escape

The barricade set by the police was impenetrable and the trailer chasing the Mustang wouldn't give up.

Not even if the Mustang stopped and the infiltrated surrender.

Agent Kane would run over them.

"we have the spike strip ready " a fat police officer said, 

"Thank you " Smith said. "get your men ready "

"they are...I don't know why two girls in a stolen Mustang deserve this much attention "

Smith removed his sunglasses "you do not need to understand it, sergeant ...you just have assist us in this operation "

"why don't you stop your agent in the trailer?" Karl McGregor asked, angrily " he is hitting every car ..."

Smith looked at him long and hard, so hard the sergeant decided to shut up 

"I want you to open fire at my command " Smith said, loudly " these criminals are dangerous and no considerations have to be done...understood?"

The barricade was composed by four Impala police cars with their strobes on.

The policemen prepared to fire...the twelve of them had automatic weapons and some other heavy weapons including shot guns and AR-15 rifles.

Two more minutes.

The traffic was being held by officers in the colliding streets with similar barricades, for what they concerned, the Mustang had no escape.

"Signal?" Shiva asked, dumbfounded " what kind of signal?"

Joyce remained in silence, her eyes locked with the incoming barricade, the odometer marked 90 miles per hour...the trailer was still behind them...if something had to happen it had to happen now.


	9. Valkyries on the run

****

Vick says: Chapter 9...Shiva tries to complete Sonic's program but something is wrong with her...a strange connection is working between she and Smith...come with us to discover Smith's plan and see what the Mordecai crew will do.

****

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

****

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding saga.

THE MATRIX:

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

The Agent and the Hacker.

Chapter 9

Blue Prince unlimited

inspired in Matrix Reloaded OST track 16 'Chateau' by Rob Dougan

"Great...just what I needed..." Homer 'Big Guy' Martinez pressed the brakes of his trailer and saw, with growing anger how the others drivers did the same, the road was blocked a block ahead...something big, he thought, chewing his beloved tobacco.

Homer sighed, and leaned back, cleaning his sweaty forehead with a soft towel he always had at hand.

He was late and that meant bye bye to his 'On time' bonus

Wonderful, simply splendid.

He grabbed the steering wheel and moved the shift gear to Neutral, activating the parking air brake.

His door opened.

"hey!"

"I will make you choose " a man with long black coat and sunglasses said, calmly, his gun aiming at him "either you get down now and save your life or go with me to what will surely be your death"

Homer was not impressed "put the gun down, amigo, this shit is loaded with Gasoline!..."

Jeremy smiled coldly "I know...that is why I need it...." 

Homer tried to snatch the gun out of the man's hand but instead of that he found himself being literally pulled out of the vehicle in a single movement.

The driver of the Gasoline pipe hit the ground between the trailer and the adjacent car and, by the time he recovered the man with the long coat was releasing the parking brake

There was a row of vehicles in front of him...the man with the long coat didn't seem to notice and rammed against them.

***

The Mustang was like a white rocket running in the street at full speed toward the barricade...a trailer was close behind.

"ready!" Smith lifted a hand 

The cry of surprise of the policemen behind him attracted his attention.

Smith swirled 

He saw the pipe opening a path in his direction, fast, very fast....people running away from their cars...vehicles being taken out of the way 

The cops began firing, forgetting about the incoming Mustang....some of them decided to get out of the way...

Smith stood in his position and began firing to the driver's side...that was not an accident...he was sure...the bullets broke the windshield , the pipe continued its trajectory ...the cops continued firing but the voice of alarm of one of them warned them about the contents of the pipe...

The police officers ran for their lives...

The driver's door of the pipe opened and a man jumped out, landing in his feet and firing against the pipe when it left him behind

Smith aimed at Jeremy but the truck loomed over him.

Jeremy fired his last round and this time he succeeded 

The pipe exploded, destroying the building's windows and sending flames all over the place...the barricade was smashed to pieces as the ignited vehicle continued its trajectory out of control, leaning on one side and moving away from the center line, hitting a store in the corner of the intersection...

"thats the signal" Joyce said 

"what are you gonna do?" Shiva asked but it was obvious

The Mustang darted through the open path the explosion left 

The flames surrounded the car but it was very fast and could make to the other side , speeding away while the trailer driven by the agent stopped, unable to follow...

"We underestimated them" said Agent Kane getting down of the trailer

"but the virus works" Smith replied appearing from the other side of the trailer" now all we have to do is to wait...let the Sentinels continue ...soon, there will be no more Zion ships"

Shiva's cold

Shiva opened her eyes and sat in the chair, panting and sweating.

"are you ok?" Jung asked

"yes...yes..." she answered , frantically " I am fine...Jesus !"

Jeremy and Joyce were unplugged.

"How could he find us so damn quickly?" Joyce asked once they were in the diner room "they are not that fast"

later,

Jeremy, arms folded, continued paying attention to what his crew had to say.

"Smith is the one who found you first " Jung noted " this is relevant because you know Smith only takes charge of important events..."

"what are you trying to say, Jung?" Abraham asked but he knew it.

"Smith usually allow other agents to do the job unless he has some interest in it..." the operator explained, looking at Shiva.

"Me?" she asked, dumbfounded

"yes" the operator nodded " I think you're important for him somehow"

"that does not explain how he found us that fast " Joyce retored 

Freud shook his head " we have the latest report of ships lost...fifteen "

"we can't waste time " Abraham stated 

Jung sighed " the firewall have to be uploaded soon....Even Sonic ignored how much time his protection would last...the Mordecai could be spotted anytime ...even as we speak now"

A heavy silence fell over them for a couple of minutes.

"Can't I simply write the program here?" Shiva asked

"No...I explained you..." Joyce said, facing away "the program must be written inside the Matrix"

"but I prefer to consider unwise to send you there again...not if there is the slightest possibility of being spotted that fast by Smith...we were lucky this time " Jung stated. " and he won't be very happy for that"

Shiva took a deep breath 

"What about the construct?" she asked, "isn't that a replica of the Matrix?"

Jung and Freud exchanged knowing glances.

"it is, " Abraham nodded " but it has limitations..."

"What kind of limitations?" Shiva sneered " we can load weapons, cars and other things there, can't we?...well...maybe we can create a program there and upload it to the Matrix"

Joyce shook her head " we can load programs that had been copied _from_ the Matrix, Shiva...remember?...cars, weapons and clothes are just files "

"Exactly " Shiva said " files..." she rose and hovered around the table " All I need is Sonic's files...I will continue from there ...can they be copied from the Matrix?."

Freud nodded " yes, but what we don't know is how much the Matrix will accept the codes written in the Construct ...it may accept the codes from Sonic but yours?" he shrugged his shoulders " who knows?"

"are you telling me you have never written a program outside the Matrix?" she asked, surprised

"Not one that works..."Jung stated "the Matrix recognizes the code from the construct and voids it"

Shiva sighed "We'll have to change that" she stated, 

"Can't be done" Joyce folded her arms "Jeremy?, why don't we simply retreat to Zion and find other way to solve this problem?"

"Fifteen ships have been destroyed, " the Captain of the Mordecai said, rising his voice " do you really think we can simply got back home like this?" he shook his head " I don't think so, "

"but..."

"What would Sonic do?" Jeremy asked 

Everybody stared at her, she didn't let that intimidate her. 

"He can't do nothing..." she said, bitterly " he is dead, remember?"

She rose and stormed to the door but Jeremy's voice stopped her

"then you prefer living knowing he died for nothing?" he asked, matter of factly " are you gonna sit down and wait for death?..."

Joyce faced him, fury in her beautiful face.

"We are soldiers, Joyce, we have a duty and a mission...remember that"

"Sonic died because he thought she could do what he couldn't " Joyce yelled " and look at her....she seems to be a magnet for agents...and she is trying to do something impossible...there is no mission here ...the mission is over...and so is Sonic!"

"you are an officer of this ship " Jeremy said, his voice grave and firm " and you will follow my orders!"

She pondered the matter for a couple of seconds.

"alright" Joyce returned to her chair " fine...I will continue with this absurd charade but mark my words and mark them well ...Shiva will mean our doom and the end of Zion's defense "

She then fell in a hermetic silence

Jeremy regained control " Jung, I want you to help Shiva in all she asks you while Abraham and Joyce go get the files..."

The group rose and one by one, began walking out.

"Freud, you stay"

The operator locked the door and folded his arms.

"what's on your mind, Captain?"

Jeremy sat in the chair used by Shiva "our conversation won't leave this room, understood?"

"you can trust me, Jeremy"

"I know " he sighed, intertwining his hands on the table " that is why I asked you to stay..." pause " what do you think about all this?"

"Shiva, Joyce and the firewall?"

"yes..."

"I think Smith knows something we don't and Shiva is part of it"

"you're modest in your opinion this time " Jeremy noted 

Freud chuckled. " we have to keep an eye on her...to be alert...and ..." he paused, " and..."

"pull the plug if necessary?" 

"yes..." Freud shrugged his shoulders "I sincerely don't know if she will be able to do all the things Sonic thought she could but one thing is true...she wants to give it a shot and will do it seriously..."

Jeremy agreed "what about Joyce?"

"I think she is the most dangerous now...for Shiva and for us...I suspect given the correct circumstances she will betray us...she doesn't know how to deal with his death and thats a big problem for us...she is an easy target for Smith..."

"how so?"

Freud sorted his thoughts before talking " she is here because of Sonic...she could handle living in this world because of his love...I know a thing like _love_ is not practical in our situation but that is the way things are..." pause " give her the way to get out of here and she'll take it even at our expense..."

Jeremy pondered the matter for a couple of seconds...

" are you sure?"

" she told me "

Silence

" Keep an eye on her too, Freud, follow her closely"

" I will " Freud unlocked the door 

"unplug her at the minor sign of problem" Jeremy commanded , bitterly 

Freud walked out in silence.


	10. the flight of the Archangel

****

Vick says: chapter 10, the Sentinels are destroying more ships while Shiva is working to complete the Firewall but the crew of the Mordecai are starting to doubt about Sonic's choice

****

Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...

****

Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding saga.

THE MATRIX

Firewalls

By Vick

Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx

The Agent and the Hacker.

Chapter 10

Sonic's Legacy

Inspired in Matrix Reloaded OST track 10 '_Dread Rock'_ performed by Oakenfold

One hour later

Joyce and Abraham were connected to the Matrix in their way to get Sonic's files while Shiva was next to Jung in the control isle.

"Any sign of an Agent?" she asked, nervously 

"No " Jung said, keeping an eye in the monitor in front of her " the operation is progressing normally. Abraham and Joyce will be back any moment "

"you don't trust me, do you Jung?"

"To be honest, no, I don't " the operator said " but I will help you ...all of our lives depend on you concluding Sonic's work...Zion, Shiva is bigger than my trust in you or the people in this ship...we have to forget the selfishness of our emotions and concentrate in our collective goal ...even if that means killing those near us" The woman looked at her with her deep blue eyes, the threat palpable " do not misunderstand me, Shiva , I am just doing my job "

Shiva regretted asking that question knowing how true the words from Jung were.

"Alright..."

"Ready to start?" Jung asked, always in her neutral voice " The Construct is loaded "

" Sure "

"I'll assist you " Freud said from the door 

"Ok " she sat in the nearest chair, Freud was preparing her monitoring devices with a strange look in his eyes "is something wrong?"

He shook his head "Nothing is wrong..."

"you're a lousy liar "Shiva thought the moment before the jack was introduced in the outlet.

"Now that you're up, tell me, what do you need?" 

Shiva sighed "I need a place to work"

"here you go" said the voice of Jung

The Construct changed and Shiva found herself in a copy of her old office in the FBI Building.

"what about this?" the operator asked

"Perfect " 

Abraham opened the door and walked in; Joyce remained outside.

"This is Sonic's legacy, Shiva, " he said, placing a CD/R in her hands " now is up to you"

"I won't leave here unless the firewall program is complete " she assured "now go...I work better on my own"

Abraham nodded and left.

Shiva inserted the CD in the CD ROM unit of the main computer and sat, ready to work.

The flight of the _Archangel_

While Shiva worked in the Construct of the undetectable Mordecai, battles of life and death were fought in the caves, ships were hunted down with mechanical accuracy 

But none of the ships tried to escape...their crews fought back to buy precious time for Jeremy and his crew...they couldn't simply return to Zion, it would give the machines the control of the sewer systems and a clear path to the human city.

The hovercrafts, survivors of a lost war, wouldn't seen the end of their fighting days until the last Sentinel were destroyed.

The explosion sent all who were not ready to the ground inside the _Archangel_, the pilot barked some orders in the intercom and continued dodging the incoming fire as best as he could while his companion, a Latin looking man tried very hard to find the way out of that labyrinth ...they were flying in a narrow cave that left them not much space to maneuver and the Sentinels were fast and small...the perfect combination to fight in those caves

The man clenched his teeth, the nearest exit to a bigger cave was three and a half miles ahead and, according to the scanner, Sentinels were waiting, a dozen of them

The pilot knew his companion very well that's why he understood the signs written in his face.

"we're busted, aren't we Vazquez? " 

A explosion to his right collapsed some pillars in front of them, the pilot grabbed the controls tight and darted toward the falling rocks prying they would have the chance to pass, they did but one of the Anti G generators in the tail was hit, exploding and taking a Sentinel with him...

The alert lights began blinking in his panel

"Stabilize that, dammit!" he yelled when the hovercraft began sliding left

Vazquez typed some commands in a small keyboard , soon, the ship was in control again

"we have an exit to a bigger cave " Vazquez said " three and a half miles ahead, but it is guarded "

"how many of them?" the pilot asked 

"twelve "

"what is in the cave?" 

Vazquez searched the requested info.

"according to our sensors...."

"cut the damn speech Mr. Spock!"

"it seems they destroyed two hovercrafts there " 

The pilot smiled fiercely. " perfect"

"what?!"

A series of explosions created such turbulence the pilot screamed in terror completely sure that was the end of the _Archangel_ but he kept the ship in control and continued in one piece

In the back part of the hovercraft, the rest of the crew used the 50 mm machine guns to defend the ship against the sentinels.

Kuffler locked on and fired, the sentinel received a direct hit and exploded when it was crawling on the hull...two of them landed on the hull but the other machine gun nest destroyed them...but there was more...

Six Sentinels landed in the hull of the ship and fired their lasers to open a path inside the ship. Kuffler fired and destroyed two of them but the others continued working... the woman yelled a warning to those in the main deck and continued her job, firing against the enemy

An explosion to her left indicated the machine gun operated by Hector was destroyed, Kuffler moved her weapon and turned the Sentinel in mechanic useless junk that slid down the hull and fell

It was like fighting ants...they were everywhere but the woman wouldn't give up...if she was about to die she'd take as many machines as possible ..

A Sentinel appeared in front of her machine gun and was promptly reduced to pieces.

The 'Hull breach' legend blinked in the bottom left corner of her view screen, Kuffler didn't seem to notice, she just continued fighting but in the bottom of her mind she knew she wouldn't resist much more time, not when she was running low of ammo.

But she wouldn't allow a machine to kill her...the knife she always carried with her would be her passport to the other world. Those bastards would only find her body...

Kuffler saw how the Sentinels destroyed an Anti G device near her, she tried to hunt them down but the turbulence generated by the explosion moved the sight

Three Sentinels headed their way and jumped over her machine gun.

She screamed in fury and charged against them when her last rounds.

"Damn, this is bad!" 

Vazquez was beginning to see how impossible was to control the ship...the Anti G generators were being ripped apart and that meant the ship would fall like a heavy rock in a matter of minutes...

But the pilot had a plan

"how far are we from the cave?"

"two minutes "

"good..." the pilot looked at him " go charge the EMP"

"are you crazy?" Vazquez asked, dumbfounded " we can't do that !"

"Of course we can" the pilot stated " it is our only chance!"

"but we would be defenseless! " 

"yeah....but alive..." the pilot replied " if we can destroy these bastards with the EMP the others won't get closer and if they do they will only see three wrecked ships...we can hide until a rescue ship come to pick us up"

Vazquez nodded " I'll do it " 

"I'll send the distress signal now , that way the Sentinels will think they have us..."

"they do" Vazquez said and ran out of the bridge heading to the main deck.

It was practically impossible to run in a ship that moved from one side to another like that but he had to do it. So he grabbed from wherever he could and headed to use _Archangel's_ last chance to 

survive.

He heard the screams of a crew member and the sound of the machine guns, 

Vazquez got to the main deck and stopped, horrified

Parson and Nek where dead, their bodies still in the suspensor chairs, both of them with their heads hanging in strange and impossible angles

There was a small fire crackling somewhere but Vazquez didn't care, he had to get to the main isle to arm the device...the whereabouts of Jonah , the operator of the _Archangel_ were unknown although, all he had to do was to look up, to the hole opened in the hull to an upper level and where the Sentinel waited for another prey still holding the dead operator in one of his metallic appendix.

Vazquez entered the code for EMP activation 

The Sentinel fell over him

The pilot asked the computer how many machine guns were left.

Two

An explosion swayed the ship and the count changed...one machine gun left

In front of him, barrier of Sentinels were waiting, 

The pilot activated the intercom when the barricade of Sentinels charged against the ship. " Now Vazquez!"

The scream of pain echoed in the ship

The Sentinel grabbed the human again and ripped apart one of his legs, the man screamed at the verge of hysteria but the machine, deaf to those sounds of pain, send the man flying directly to the main isle.

Like toying with his victim

Vazquez crawled to the EMP console, slowly, knowing he had not much time...the Sentinel loomed over him...the man crawled a few more inches...he was too close...

The Sentinel decided it was time to end his game...so he fired his laser, aiming to the head of that human

The hand of Vazquez was over the button when he died....his last action was to press it.

The pilot of the ship closed his eyes when he heard the increasing hum of the Electro Magnetic Pulse

The controls froze in his hands while the explosion of light flooded the cave, expanding fast through the walls and into the tunnels

The Sentinels died at the touch of the EMP, their electronic devices destroyed by the pulse but so did the _Archangel_ which began falling, directly to where the other two ships were.

The ship made contact with the ground and began bumping wildly and without control, leaving a destruction path while it slowed down to a stop

To any casual witness of that tragedy, in case it could be any in that desolated lands, the first thought would be that no one could survive

They would be wrong.

The pilot of the ship opened his eyes and tried to move...his body hurt but he was not injured; he was beaten but fine...

He rose from his chair and grabbed for support, he was dizzy and has a terrible headache.

Was he the only one alive?

He walked inside the ship willing to find life in there...in the main deck he found four dead ...Vazquez still holding the EMP trigger...

The machine gun operated by Hector was gone

The pilot moved to the other side of the ship, where the other machine gun was and found Kuffler hanging head down in the stairs, inside the machine gun nest he saw a big hole in the walls and some metallic appendixes hanging like dead snakes...

A low groan coming from the woman startled him.

She was alive

The pilot pulled her down and put her, carefully, on the floor

"Kuffler?" he called, softly " can you hear me?"

She opened her eyes slowly. At first, she only saw a fuzzy image and then the worried face of the pilot 

" Apoc " she said 

"we made it..." he replied " how do you feel?"

"terrible..." she coughed " you're an awful driver..."

That was a good sign. 

"we have to move..." Apoc said helping her up " we need to look for a shelter and wait for the rescue ship"

Little they knew they'd have to wait three weeks to be rescued

***

Freud curled his mouth in anger; another one gone.

Jeremy , dejected, shook his head

"How is she doing?"

"progressing... " Freud informed " she will need more time"

"Do you believe in miracles?" Jeremy asked, looking out to the sinister landscape outside the ship " I mean, do you really believe we will make it?"

Freud sighed "No"

"Me neither, Freud...." Jeremy admitted, admiring the swarms of Sentinels flying over the _Mordecai_ with their electronic sensors blind to Zion's only hope.

Blind, yes but that left a question ...for how long?...

The only person who could answer that question was dead.


End file.
